Bangalore :The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has included Karnataka in Phase-I of the National Dairy Development Plan, which would conclude in 2017. T Nanda Kumar, chairman, NDDB, was in Bengaluru recently. He informed that the plan was to cover 4,642 villages by 2017 in Karnataka, which is now the second-highest milk producer in the country after Gujarat.
Under Phase I of the plan, the Board has envisaged achieving additional milk procurement of 471 lakh litre per day by 2017. It has allocated a total project outlay worth Rs 141.46 crore, covering the districts of Bengaluru, Mysore, Raichur, Bellary, Kolar, Hassan, Mandya, Dakishina Kannada, Dharwad and Shimoga.
The Board has installed a data processing milk collection unit (DPMCU) in Ganagula village in Hoskote in Bengaluru Rural District. This enables dairy farmers to harness the benefits of information technology. The game plan devised by NDDB is to enhance the milk production from the existing cows by a process of assessing the cattle’s genetic make-up and feeds consumed,” he added.
Under the plan, information for animal production and health (IAHP) software installed on the laptop of a dairy farmer, who is a also a local resource person identified by the Karnataka government, helps address the problems of the milk sector. It adopts a scientific calculation, known as the ration balancing programme, which helps calculate the exact need, depending on the breed, age weight, milk yield and other details of the cow. The Machine weighs the milk accurately, measures the fat content and can indicate if it is diluted. On an average, dairy milk farmers earn at least 25-29 paise more per litre, and if they are able to provide 500 litre, they get paid Rs 22-23 per litre.
The southern state is among the 14 states whose farmers reduced their input costs and boosted the milk yield. P Gurulingaiah, managing director, Bangalore Milk Union, said Indian milk cooperative society supplies 320 litre milk per day, and Karnataka accounts for 60 lakh litre per day achieved by the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) in June 2014. With the information technology systems introduced, we could enhance the milk production by an additional 54 lakh litre per day, he said.
