Shah promises to bring all eight million dairy farmers into cooperative sector and launches new schemes

Anand: Union Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday that 6.5 million rural families involved in milk production are outside the cooperative sector and face exploitation as they do not get a fair price.

Shah said that only 1.5 million of the 8 million rural dairy farming families are part of the cooperative sector and asked the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to ensure that all of them receive the full value of their produce.

The Union Cooperation Minister was speaking in Anand, Gujarat on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of NDDB and the birth anniversary of Tribhuvandas Patel, founder of AMUL cooperative.

“Today, 8 million rural families produce milk daily, but only 1.5 million have joined the cooperative sector. This means that the remaining 6.5 crores are still being exploited and not getting a fair price. Often they have to throw away the milk,” Shah said.

Our goal is to ensure that all 8 million farmers get full value for their hard work through the cooperative sector and NDDB must move forward in this direction,” Shah said.

Shah paid tributes to Tribhuvandas Patel, founder of the Kaira District Milk Producers Cooperative Union, popularly known as Amul Dairy, who was instrumental in the establishment of the NDDB.

“Patel did not take care of himself while working on a unique idea to empower poor farmers, especially women associated with dairy farming. The real reason why women farmers are achieving so much today is because of the cooperative revolution,” he said.