Dairy farmers' demands to be addressed within seven days
REPUBLICA
KATHMANDU, Aug 1: The Dairy Development Board (DDB) on Friday said it would give its final decision on settling dairy farmers´ demands, including raising the price of milk within seven days.
DN Pathak, executive director and member secretary of the DDB, the dairy regulator, said the board couldn´t make any decision on Friday, as the process of studying the technical aspect of the recommendations submitted by a committee is being studied.
A high-level panel, led by Pathak, had recently recommended to the government to increase price of milk by Rs 4 to Rs 38 per liter, considering the soaring milk production cost.
Minister for Agriculture and Co-operatives and DDB Chairman Mrigendra Kumar Singh Yadav were also present in the DDB board meeting.
"Minister Yadav has assured us that the board will come to a conclusion on the issues raised by dairy farmers within seven days," Dhaka Ram Aryal, chairman of Central Dairy Co-operatives Association, said after the meeting.
Aryal said Friday´s meeting couldn´t take any decision as some of the board members demanded more time to study the recommendations made by the panel.
The panel also comprised senior officials from the Department of Livestock Services, Department of Food Technology and Quality Control, Nepal Agriculture Research Council, Dairy Development Corporation (DDC), Nepal Dairy Association, Central Dairy Co-operatives and Consumer Interest Protection Forum. It was formed on July 6.
The panel had also recommended the government to provide 50 percent discount on interest on loan and cattle insurance premium for dairy farmers.
The panel was formed to recommend the government new price of milk by analyzing the production and processing cost of milk.
The DDB had conducted a national-level field study in ten districts -- including Ilam, Morang, Chitwan, Kavre, Syangja, Rupandehi and Dang in 2007 -- to study the cost of production of milk. On the basis of prices of cows and buffaloes, feeds and other inputs, the study had concluded that the cost per liter of milk was lowest in Morang at Rs 13.68. Similarly, the cost per liter of milk was the highest in Dang at Rs 20.45. The study put the average cost per liter of milk at Rs 17.2.
However, Ajab Lal Yadav, chairman and general manager of Dairy Development Corporation (DDC), said the prices recommended by the DDB wouldn´t be mandatory to any market player, including DDC, in the open market system.
The DDC -- the government owned dairy producer -- and private dairies are collecting over 450,000 liters of milk every day from across the country.
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Dairy Farmers' Demands To Be Addressed Within Seven Days
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