Guwahati, May 20: The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) is planning to set up a joint venture with the Assam government for a fruits and vegetables project in the state.
The board today met Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi here and explored the possibility of such a project with an objective to procure the requisite quantity from an organised set of farmers and ensure that they realise a fair price.
"We met the chief minister and chief secretary here today and explored the possibility of a tie-up under a brand through which we can sell properly sourced and stored fruits and vegetables," board chairman T. Nanda Kumar said.
The board, for its part, has already started sourcing vegetables/spices such as tomatoes, cucumber and ginger from the state on a pilot basis and is looking to procure more, including fruits such as pineapples and oranges. "We are also examining whether we can have a retail presence in Guwahati itself, along the lines of Safal (a fruits and vegetable brand of Mother Dairy, which is a subsidiary of NDDB) outlets in Delhi," Nanda Kumar said.
"But this will materialise only if we can buy in bulk. We have requested the Assam government to help set up an organised set of farmers/producers, give us the requisite quantity and ensure that the soil is pesticide-free. This will ensure that the farmers get a fair price and the customers quality products," he said.
The NDDB chairman said the project, given the seasonal constraints, could start by next winter.
Created in 1965 with an objective to promote producer-owned organisations, the NDDB has integrated over 1.17 lakh dairy co-operatives. In May 2008, the board took over the management of West Assam Milk Producers' Cooperative Union Ltd (Wamul, also known as Purabi Dairy) in Guwahati. The milk-producing capacity of Wamul has shot up from 500 litres per day in 2008 to 50,000 litres per day at present. The board also discussed the road map for dairy development with the chief minister.
Wamul today organised a producers' meet for distributing additional milk price to active producers in the financial year 2014-15. The additional payments are made from the surplus revenue generated at the end of the year.
"The additional price of Rs 5 per kg of milk solid, which comes to 75 paise per litre of milk, was provided to producers who have supplied milk for at least 200 days while the others were paid Rs 3 per kg of milk solid," Wamul managing director Manoranjan Thakur said.
Wamul is implementing a Rs 147-crore dairy development plan that focuses on the uplift of animal breeding, including facilitation of artificial insemination at the doorsteps of dairy farmers. The union, which has around 4,000 producers under it, will also distribute stainless steel milk jars among its members so that hygiene can be maintained during storage.