Amul to help develop dairy sector in Jammu and Kashmir

Prashant Rupera | TNN

VADODARA: The revoking of special status to Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) has raised hopes that the images of youth pelting stones will be replaced by the ones ‘milking’ cows and buffaloes.

Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets brand Amul, has already helped Jammu and Kashmir Milk Producers Cooperative Limited (JKMPCL) become profit making.

JKMPCL is in fact now eyeing to clock Rs 115 crore annual turnover by the end of 2024-25 and scale up its milk procurement to 180 lakh kg per year. With Centre’s support, JKCMPL has already started two milk processing plants at Jammu and Srinagar while it is in process of setting up an ice-cream and a paneer plant soon.

Last month, GCMMF’s managing director (MD) R S Sodhi and board members of JKMPCL had met J&K governor Satya Pal Malik and chief secretary B V R Subrahmanyam to apprise them of Amul’s plans to further develop the dairy sector.

“Dairy development has lot of scope in J&K. Amul’s job is to plan, guide, mentor and provide any technical assistance that is required to JKMPCL. Even at present, it has reached a respectable level,” said Sodhi, who is one of the two GCMMF representatives, on the board of JKMPCL.

J&K is a net milk-deficit state with lot of potential. Dairy development will help provide gainful employment to youth of villages and it act as a source of livelihood for them. The climatic conditions are also favourable to scale up the sector,” he said.

Of the 150 self-help groups (SHGs) involved in J&K dairy sector, some of them are completely managed by women. After being trained by Amul, an SHG named ‘Umeed’ which is completely managed by women milk producers has been recently started in Kashmir valley. The milk is sold under brand ‘Snow Cap’.

J&K has milk producer members through 390 village dairy co-operative societies which have been set up on Amul pattern. It has also established 40 bulk milk coolers.