AP Amul Dairy Project to expand its operation to 3 more mandals in Chittoor district

Madanapalle: AP-Amul Dairy Project, a joint venture of the State government and Amul Dairy, Gujarat decided to expand its operation for collection of milk in three more mandals in Chittoor district. With this the total mandals covered under the project in the district will rise to five.

As a preliminary exercise to the expansion of milk collection by Amul Dairy, District Collector Harinarayanan along with Madanapalle Sub-Collector M Jahnavi and Animal Husbandry officials visited Mudaram Doddi and Gnumakula Palli villages in V Kota mandal on Friday to address a meeting of women farmers engaged in milk production.

The Collector directed the Mandal Parishad Development Officers (MPDOs), Animal Husbandry, DRDA and cooperative officials to take steps for setting up women dairy farmers cooperative societies in the villages for the procurement of milk by Amul Dairy Project in the three mandals including V Kota, Santhipuram and Ramakuppam mandals.

He wanted the officials to create awareness among the women farmers engaged in milk production to join as members in the village-level coop societies for supply of milk to Amul Dairy to get more revenue.

The Collector said that the government joined as a partner with Amul project (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation), a giant in the country's dairy sector in an effort to provide competitive price to the milk produced by women dairy farmers and help them earn more income. This will facilitate economic progress of the rural women.

He wanted the officials to develop the women farmers milk cooperative societies like the women self help groups (SHGs) playing crucial role for the empowerment of women in the State.

To begin with, the Collector said that Amul Dairy Project will take up milk collection in 74 villages covered under six routes in the three mandals of V Kota, Santhipuram and Ramakuppam mandals and later expand the operation to cover more villages in the three mandals.

The official should take steps for creating awareness among the women dairy farmers through volunteers in villages on the merits of supplying milk to Amul project to help it procure more quantity of milks. The volunteers should also take up house- to -house survey on the number of milch animals in each house for registration online.

At a gathering of women dairy farmers in Gonumakulapalle, the Collector patiently replied to the queries raised by the women on Amul project milk procurement and the standards to be followed for supply milk, the price offered by the Amul. Responding to the women who complained against the AH veterinary officer working in Mudaramdoddi panchayat not regularly attending duties, the collector ordered an enquiry.

It may be noted here that the AP Amul Project launched its operation of milk collection in two mandals Ramasamudram and Madanapalle covering 100 villages in November last year as part of the first phase of the project covering three districts in the State aimed for dairy development for empowerment of women.