Entrepreneurship is buzzword

BHUBANESWAR: With a target of achieving three million tonne milk production annually in the next five years, the Animal Resources Development (ARD) Department has begun promoting entrepreneurship in dairy sector.  As many as 6,000 model dairy farms would be established in the State during this fiscal under the Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme (DEDS) launched by Nabard, Fisheries and ARD Secretary Satyabrata Sahoo said on Thursday.Of the model farms, 3,000 would be set up under the Milk Producers’ Cooperative Societies (MPCSs) and the rest in the areas coming under the Livestock Aid Centres (LACs). There are about 3,500 MPCSs in the State along with 2,939 LACs.The objective is to promote dairy farming as an industry in a big way so as to not only generate employment but also ensure production of clean milk. The project envisages transformation of the unorganised sector by way of infusing infrastructure and technologies to handle the production on a commercial scale. The scheme also aims at promoting heifer calf-rearing, thereby conserving good breeding stock.Financial assistance to people, interested to set up their own dairy units on a big scale, would be facilitated by Nabard. Entrepreneurs would be assisted in setting up of units with up to 10 animals and rearing of up to 20 calves. They would be also provided with loans for installing milking machines, dairy processing equipment, establishment of dairy product transportation and cold chain management equipment as well as private veterinary clinics and dairy marketing outlets.Speaking at a workshop for CDVOs on implementation of DEDS, Sahoo said 117 chick rearing units under backyard poultry initiatives would be established this year. Under the Vision 2020, the Department envisages increase in milk production from 1.5 million tonne per annum at present to 4.8 million tonne by the end of the decade. Poultry meat production is also aimed to be enhanced from 70 tonne to 100 tonne annually by the same year.