Kerala to boost dairy sector

The Kerala government has charted out measures to increase the productivity of dairy animals.

According to C Divakaran, state minister for food and civil supplies and animal husbandry, the government will soon announce a new Breeding Policy and also set up high-tech dairy farms with 1,000 animals in Wayanad and Idukki districts. Also, on the anvil are model dairy farms to be set up by the Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Milma).

He the state government will also consider import of high-yielding animals, if necessary, to improve the quality of breeding stock. He was speaking at a state-level meeting on 'Dairy sector - Challenges and Strategies,' organised by the Nabard Kerala regional office here.

According to Bhawar Puri, chief general manager, Nabard, the strengthening of marketing infrastructure for procurement, processing, marketing and quality assurance of milk is the need of the hour. The state-owned breeding farms can be strengthened on scientific lines with Nabard assistance.