Dakshina Kannada Cooperative Milk Union Ltd. (DKMUL) will modernise its milk chilling plant in Puttur at an estimated cost of ₹12 crore to increase storage capacity, according to Raviraj Hegde, president, DKMUL.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the fourth edition of the three-day ‘krishi yantra mela – 2019’ (farm machinery fair) on the premises of Vivekananda College of Engineering and Technology here on Saturday, he said that the storage capacity will be increased from 60,000 litres to one lakh litres.
The chilling plant would be modernised as per standards fixed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
Mr. Hegde said the cooperative’s camp office in Puttur would be demolished and rebuilt at an estimated cost of ₹4 crore. It would be reconstructed to hold meetings of farmers and other allied farming activities.
Both works will be taken up during the current year, he said.
The president said that marketing milk, which is in excess production, has become a challenge now. Hence, the cooperative has been making and marketing value added products. Its ghee is in great demand, he said.
Earlier, the challenge was to increase milk production and later it was to ensure the quality.
Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP, who inaugurated the mela, asked farmers to go for mechanised farming to meet the shortage of farm labourers.
M.R. Dinesh, director, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bengaluru, asked farmers to think like an entrepreneur and act accordingly to reap profits in farming.
The IIHR has been releasing disease-resistent varieties of horticultural crops and its research on the same will continue.
S.R. Satishchandra, president, Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Ltd., spoke.
The mela will end on Monday. It has been jointly organised by the college, CAMPCO, DKMUL, and Vivekananda Polytechnic.