NDDB signs MoU with Ladakh Administration, LAHDC to manage Ladakh Milk Federation

The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh and the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) by which it will manage the entire operations of the Ladakh Milk Federation for a period of five years and implement a structured dairy development programme in the region.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Radha Krishna Mathur, the Lt Governor of Ladakh, and Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, MP of Ladakh by Meenesh Shah, Chairman and Executive Director, NDDB, Tashi Gyalson, Chief Executive Councillor, LAHDC, Leh and Ravinder Kumar, Secretary, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative Department, UT Ladakh.

On this occasion, the NDDB Chairman reiterated the continued focus of NDDB on the regions where the dairy sector is yet to be developed to significantly contribute to the livelihoods of the rural households. He further mentioned that NDDB would ensure that the operations of the Federation and the constituent units are professionally managed with an emphasis on providing fair and transparent operations to the dairy farmers.

Shah also assured that NDDB along with its subsidiary company/ies would continue to support the UT of Ladakh in its endeavour to bring about prosperity through dairying. IDMC, the wholly owned subsidiary company, has already completed the refurbishment and upgradation of the milk processing plant at Leh which will be soon operationalized.

The Lt Governor of Ladakh said that NDDB’s expertise would help in establishing a robust milk procurement and processing system in Ladakh and would also help in undertaking scientific productivity enhancement activities with a focus on animal breeding, nutrition and health. This MoU will encourage entrepreneurs to set up dairy farms, leading to the development of the dairy sector in the region, which will also provide an avenue for employment for the rural youth and more milk production in UT.

Gyalson mentioned that Ladakh has the potential for milk production and the joint efforts by the NDDB and the Ladakh Administration would definitely help in ensuring a better remuneration to farmers for their milk.

Addressing the gathering, Namgyal said focused intervention for dairying in the region was long-awaited and signing of this MoU would surely help in bringing socio-economic development in Ladakh.

During the tenure of this MoU, NDDB will provide its services without any management fees and also depute its professional manpower at key managerial positions for managing the operations of the Federations and its constituent units.