Milk collection centre launched..PTR’s initiative in East Pench to help farmers

By Kaushik Bhattacharya

To reduce human dependency on forest land and to increase livelihood of unemployed villagers in Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR), the management has started milk collection centre project in East Pench. Under this project, PTR Management is also funding farmers in the buffer villages for purchasing of cattle and has also established a milk collection centre where all villagers can collect milk. The milk will then be sold to milk co-operatives in Nagpur. “We have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Haldiram, which is purchasing milk from the milk collection centre that we established at a village in East Pench. We are successfully running this project in Awaleghat village of South Pench and now we are extending this in East Pench too,” Dr Prabhunath Shukla, Deputy Director, PTR told ‘The Hitavada’.

“This project is benefiting those villagers who have no earning source like widows, land-less labourers etc. Currently, we have started two milk collection centres where farmers from three-four nearby villages are collecting their milk and then it sending it to co-operatives in Nagpur,” said Dr Shukla. “We have started this project in January this year and within two months, we have received tremendous response and support from the farmers. Along with this, we are providing 90 per cent funding for purchase of cattle under this project and the remaining 10 per cent cost will be beared by the farmers,” said the Deputy Director. Along with this, the management is also providing cattle insurance to every farmer to avoid any loss in their business through any calamity or accident.

“In a couple of months, we have funded for purchase of more than 100 cattle in around 6 to 7 villages of PTR for this project. Our main objective behind this project is to create an earning source for unemployed villagers. After initiating this project in villages, a farmer is earning around Rs 40,000 per month by selling milk,” said Dr Shukla. The Management is also bearing the cost of the salary of the employees who are working in the milk collection centres in both villages. The milk collection centre in Awaleghat was also funded by Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM) through its CSR. Along with the PTR Management, the Gram Panchayats are also helping farmers to establish the milk collection business, the senior officer informed.

PTR to introduce digital collar for every cattle

To avoid malpractice in the milk collection centre and utilise each and every cattle for the benefit of farmers, the PTR Management is going to launch digital collar for every cow and buffalo that farmers are purchasing from the fund issued by the Management. “We just want to avoid any malpractice in this project, like utilising the cattle for other purposes and selling milk to other markets or directly to the big companies without informing us,” said Dr Shukla. This digital collar will help to monitor the cow or buffalo every day and also help to maintain its accountability. We just want that the cattles provided to farmers should not be utilised in other fields to earn illegal profit, said the officer.

“The cost of a cattle in the market is around Rs 62,000 and we are giving the farmers 90% of the cost whereas they have to bear just 10%. In this situation, farmers or others can sell the cattle or misuse them for more profit which will be wrong,” said Dr Shukla.