The West Assam Milk Producers’ Co-operative Union Limited (WAMUL), the driving force behind Purabi Dairy, has bagged the e-market award of National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India Limited for outstanding performance in the dairy sector.

WAMUL management committee chairman Dr Meenesh Shah and managing director SB Bose received the award from Union Home Minister Amit Shah at Gandhinagar in Gujarat on Saturday.

Shah urged similar cooperatives operating in different parts of the country to transition to 100 per cent bank transfers—a feat achieved by WAMUL, which has been providing livelihood to around 30,000 dairy farmers under 700 cooperatives from nine districts of Assam.

He underlined India’s global leadership in milk production with a 24 per cent share, adding that the country has seen a 51 per cent increase in milk production over the past eight years.

Bose said the award reflected the collective efforts of Purabi Dairy and that the cooperative would remain steadfast in its mission to empower the farming community and contribute to the sustainable growth of the cooperative sector.

urabi Dairy is the largest dairy cooperative in the northeast region. The cooperative also offers value-added products to consumers and conducts workshops to train farmers in allied activities such as bee-keeping and honey harvesting, helping to augment their income.

WAMUL was formed in 1976 as a cooperative of cattle-rearers and milk producers in Nagaon, Morigaon, Goalpara, Nalbari and Kamrup districts of Assam. It has a fully automated processing unit with a capacity of 60,000 liters per day.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Assembly Speaker Shankar Choudhary, IFFCO chairman Dilip Sanghani and NCDFI chairman Mangal Rai were also among those present at the award ceremony.

Source : The Indian Express Dec 31st 2023