NDDB Dairy Services (NDS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board, is providing technical support to the Uttar Pradesh government for establishing three women-owned milk producer companies in the state. Uttar Pradesh is the country's second-largest milk-producing state. The state government is promoting producer-owned enterprises exclusively owned by women under the state's Mahila Samarthya Yojana (MSY) launched in Budget 2021-22 with an allocation of Rs 200 crore.
In a statement, NDS said it is providing technical support to the project, anchored by UP State Rural Livelihood Mission (UPSRLM). Under a collaborative agreement between UPSRLM and NDS, three women milk producer companies have been incorporated, it said. These three women milk producer companies are- Saamarthya Milk Producer Company, Raebareli; Shri Baba Gorakhnath Kripaa Milk Producer Company, Gorakhpur and Srijanee Milk Producer Company, Bareilly. They will together procure milk from over 2,800 villages of 17 districts enrolling 1.50 lakh women dairy farmers and procuring over seven lakh litres of milk per day by the fifth year of operations, NDS said.
Speaking on the initiative, UPSRLM Director C Indumathy said by using the expertise of NDS, the aim is not only to promote women entrepreneurship in rural UP substantially but also to bring about a fundamental change in the lives of these women and their families. MSY is a path-breaking scheme of the UP government and is progressing well, she added.
Meenesh Shah, Chairman, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) & NDS said, "Uttar Pradesh is the second largest milk-producing state in the country, however, the state still has a large untapped potential." This initiative of bringing together women dairy farmers will not only provide market access and livelihood to them but will also unleash the entrepreneurship potential of the women belonging to the targeted 17 districts which are predominantly rural, he added.MSY was launched, encouraged by the results of Balinee Milk Producer Company, Jhansi and Kashee Milk Producer Company, Varanasi. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had praised Balinee as a model organisation for women during the IDF World Dairy Summit 2022.