Tamil Nadu dairy development minister Mano Thangaraj has said that the government has initiated a series of measures to augment milk procurement through Aavin. Speaking to reporters in Coimbatore after a meeting with dairy development department officials on Thursday, Mano Thangaraj said that as part of the measures to scale up procurement, Aavin was extending loans to more than two lakh dairy farmers. This would enable dairy farmers to increase milk production and in turn procurement by Aavin.
Denying reports that there was a fall in milk supply by Aavin, he said Aavin was ready to supply as much milk demanded by the market. He said the sale of milk through Aavin has increased by 8% this year, he said. “It’s a blatant lie to say Aavin milk is in short supply,” he said.

The government was meeting all the demands of dairy farmers one after the other. Dues are being settled to farmers once in 10 days, he said. Similarly, the procurement price has been fixed based on the quality of the milk unlike standardised procurement price paid in the past, he said.

He said efforts are also underway to encourage educated youth to foray into dairy business by providing them financial assistance to set up small cattle farms. They would be trained in dairy farming and marketing through Aavin officials. The department is also offering skill development training for Aavin personnel. To a query, he said the quality of Aavin milk packets was being improved after complaints from certain quarters that there were leakages. Even as Aavin was enhancing its sales and profit, the cooperative was also cutting cost by way of minimising electricity consumption, he said.

Source : Times of India Oct 20 2023