Five dairy women farmers from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala were felicitated for their entrepreneurial zeal of producing milk ranging from 60 liters per day to 400 liters per day, at an event organised by the Southern Zone of the Indian Dairy Association at Bengaluru.

The awardees are: A.N. Rajeshwari from Karnataka, Aligeneni Sree Padma from Andhra Pradesh, Dabbu Padma from Telangana, Leema Roselein from Kerala and Parimala Vijayaramesh from Tamil Nadu. The award carried a certificate, memento, and cash award of ₹ 20,000, according to a release.

Satish Kulkarni, former Head of the National Dairy Research Institute, Bengaluru, and currently the Chairman of the Indian Dairy Association (South Zone), said that the current milk production is increasing by 4.5% annually compared to a 1.5% increase in agricultural production. More and more rural women need to be motivated to take up dairy farming as an entrepreneurial activity as the demand for milk-based proteins is increasing and the industry is well organised to take the output by paying remunerative prices to the farmers.

Source : The Hindu Jan 23rd 2024