The Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Minister Saurabh Bahuguna addressed a press conference at the Secretariat here today. During the press interaction, he claimed that the state government will make full payment of the pending dues to dairy farmers for their products. He also announced that Diwali fairs will also be organised by Anchal Dairy at six locations in the state, where Anchal products will be sold.
Bahuguna claimed that, under the leadership of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the state government is continuously providing various incentives to dairy farmers and to farmers engaged in animal husbandry. In response to a question, he shared that an amount of about Rs 12.5 crores is pending with the farmers’ milk unions and another amount of Rs 5.89 crores is pending as milk incentive amounts. He claimed that all pending dues to the farmers will be cleared before Diwali, and that this will benefit around 53 thousand dairy farmers.
Bahuguna also reminded that the government has increased the price of milk by Rs 8 to Rs 11 per litre in the last two and a half years, whereas the average annual increase was previously one to one and a quarter rupees per litre. As a result, milk producing farmers are now encouraged to sell milk through Aanchal. This, he claimed, has led to an increase in the turnover of the milk union from Rs 20.94 crores to Rs 43.78 crores in two years, while the profit has increased from Rs 2.71 crores to Rs 7.23 crores.
The minister also claimed that the government is implementing many schemes to increase farmers’ incomes. Changes have been made in the standards of purchasing cows or buffaloes under the Ganga Cow Scheme to suit the hill areas. Additionally, the government has increased the subsidy on silage from 50 percent to 75 percent. When the straw rate reached Rs 1,600 per quintal in 2022, the government provided a 50 percent subsidy on purchase of straw by animal husbandry farmers.
Bahuguna also stressed that new products have been launched to make Anchal profitable. To increase farmers’ income through Anchal, the department will be organising a two-day Diwali fair on different dates before Diwali in Nainital, US Nagar, Dehradun, Haridwar, Champawat, and Chamoli, where Anchal products will be available for sale. Departmental publicity stalls will also be set up at these fairs.
Bahuguna further claimed that the government is trying to prevent migration by encouraging self-employment through fisheries, poultry farming, and goat rearing. He informed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will launch Uttarakhand’s Badri Ghee in Gujarat, giving it national recognition. With the Central Government’s cooperation, an Aqua Park is also being constructed in Sitarganj, which will benefit the state’s fishermen.
On this occasion, Departmental Secretary Dr BVRC Purushottam stated that all the above announcements will be implemented with immediate effect in all remaining districts except Rudraprayag district where currently the Model Code of Conduct is in place.
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