Patna: Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday announced that the government will provide a subsidy of Rs 2 per kg on cattle feed from May to July, which will come to Rs 16 crore in total.
He was speaking at the 35th foundation day celebrations of Comfed (Bihar State Milk Cooperative Federation) at Bapu Sabhagar in Patna.
In summer months, the state grapples with fodder scarcity and farmers have to spend on special feed to maintain milk production. Nitish asked Comfed, which markets milk and milk products under 'Sudha' brand, never to compromise on quality.
Various companies connected to cattle rearing and milk processing have put up their stalls at Bapu Sabhagar on the occasion.
At prices ranging from Rs 1 lakh-4 lakh, these gadgets cannot only successfully detect water and fat content in milk, but also analyse adulteration by urea, ammonium sulphate, various types of sucrose, toxins, antibiotics, hormones that are given to artificially enhance milk production, melamine (a type of plastic) and several other things.
These analysers not only detect adulteration and help buyers, especially dairies, but also read the fat content and quality of milk, helping dairy farmers get adequate remuneration for their product.
Many stalls showcased artificial breeding and cattle breed improvement techniques, while some displayed cattle feed that will help increase milk production.
Nitish also declared that milk powder manufactured by Comfed will be supplied to anganwadi centres across the state so that children can get nutrition and the federation a proper market.
Talking about credibility, Nitish said: "Today, people trust Sudha products and it has established itself as a prestigious brand. Credibility is a thing that is gained with much effort. Even a single mistake at any place can destroy it."
Asking Comfed never to compromise on quality, Nitish added: "Maintain credibility at all cost. Ensure that there is no fault at any level, be it milk collection or processing. You have to be cautious because there are always some people in society who can do mischief."
His comments assume significance because apart from Bihar, Sudha products, including milk, are also marketed in 160 cities spread across Jharkhand, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and the northeast.
Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, Energy minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav, animal husbandry and fisheries resources minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, cooperatives minister Rana Randhir, chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh, animal husbandry principal secretary N. Vijayalakshmi and Comfed managing director Shikha Srivastava also spoke on the occasion.
Nitish also inaugurated six new projects on the occasion. These include, two milk powder manufacturing plants having a capacity of 30 metric tonnes each at Samastipur and Hajipur at a cost of Rs 43 crore and Rs 35 crore, respectively; a dairy plant of 1 lakh litres per day capacity at Supaul constructed at a cost of Rs 27 crore; two ice-cream plants with a capacity of 20,000 litres each at Biharsharif and Patna; and an cattle feed plant at Patna with a capacity of 330 metric tonnes per day.
With the launch of new units, the milk processing capacity of Comfed will go up from 32 lakh litres per day to 33 lakh litres per day. The ice-cream manufacturing capacity will increase from 3,000 litres to 43,000 litres per day and milk powder making capacity will shoot up to 122 metric tonnes from 62 metric tonnes.
The chief minister pointed that the milk collection capacity of Comfed was 4 lakh litres per day when he took charge of the state in 2005. It has increased to 20.85 lakh litre per day. He also launched flavoured milk in tetra-packs. "We want Comfed to grow more, milk production to rise and milk producers to get better and guaranteed remuneration. There is much scope of growth in Bihar as milk consumption here is below the national average," Nitish said.
Around 14.55 lakh litres of milk was marketed per day by the federation during financial year 2017-18. Around 24.45 lakh litres of tetra-packed milk was sold during the year.
