MUMBAI: Milk supply to Mumbai and other parts of the state may be affected on Monday as diary farmers' groups have called for a protest from Sunday midnight.
The farmers have been raising their voice against drop in milk prices and cut in procurement by milk co-operatives. Their prime demands are - a) higher prices for milk producers b) Rs 5 per litre direct subsidy to the dairy farmers.
The protest has been called by Raju Setti-led Swabhimaani Shetkari Sanghatana, which has strong hold on the milk producing areas of western Maharashtra -- Sangli, Satara and
Kolhapur. Setti is a Member of Parliament from Hatkanangle near Kolhapur. By Saturday evening, several other organisations like All India Kisan Sabha and Bahujan Vikas Aghadi have backed the protest.
"The BJP government does not understand issues faced by rural Maharashtra. We will block all the highways and will ensure not a single tanker carrying milk will be allowed," said Setti, who broke away from the NDA citing their anti-farmer policies.
Farmers were encouraged to get into animal husbandry business as an allied activity to supplement their meagre farm incomes, but over the years the cost of production has gone up and the procurement rates have almost stagnated as the majority of the industry is run by private players on which the government has no control.
Farmer groups said that the cost of production of one litre of cow's milk is Rs 35, but they are paid between Rs 17-20 while the minimum procurement rate set by the government is Rs 27. And the problem worsened as dairies to cur losses started slashing procurement as the price of skimmed milk powder in the international market crashed. Of the total milk procured in the state, 35% is processed to make milk powder.
"The losses faced by these farmers are mounting year on year. All the market intervention that the government has done so far is to bail out the dairies, nothing is being done for the farmer," said Ajit Navale of the Kisan Sabha.
The state government and private dairies supplying to Mumbai have said that the city has a buffer stock to last till Tuesday. Even after Wednesday, the worst case scenario is that buyers may not get smaller brands of choice. Large players are determined to keep up supply to Mumbai as this remains their market of focus.R S Sodhi, managing director of Gujarat-based Amul, the largest dairy in the country, said, "We are despatching the full quantity of milk as usual and have taken the required action for smooth supply."
Asked if that meant seeking police escort for its vehicles, Sodhi said he would do so if there was any need. "Being a farmers' organisation, we stand by Maharashtra's milk farmers in their demand for adequate remuneration. In fact the milk that we supply to Mumbai and Pune is procured from Maharashtra itself," he said.
Gokul Dairy is headquartered in Kolhapur which is at the heart of the agitation. Managing director Dattatray Ghanekar says they are working their way around the strike. He said, "We have despatched regular stock on Sunday under police escort that will serve Mumbai till Tuesday. However, we have halted milk collection from farmers on Monday July 16 so there may be a slight impact on Tuesday July 17. On July 17 we will resume collection and despatch 7.5 lakh litres so the situation will ease July 18."
Kiran Kurundkar , Principal Secretary of the dairy development department said that the government is taking steps to ease this crisis. "We are in the process of adding skimmed milk powder in the Aanganwadi and mid day meal schemes. We have also announced a Rs 50 per kg export subsidy on skimmed milk powder. Besides, the centre has also announced a 10% subsidy on skimmed milk export," said Kurundkar. He said that since the international prices for skimmed milk powder were also stabilising it will boost the industry further.
The dairy sector in Maharashtra procures close of 120 lakh litres of milk crore litres is sold in the market. 40% of the total milk supply is done by state and co-operative dairies while the majority 60% is done by private dairies, some of which operate from neighbouring states.
Rajiv Jadhav, dairy development commissioner said that on Friday all private dairies and milk producers had a meeting in which it has been decided to increase the procurement price by Rs 3 from July 21.
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