The Ernakulam Region Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union (ERCMPU) has requested the State Department of Diary development to provide ₹2,000 each to dairy farmers engaged with the apex milk cooperative in the State in the wake of the 21-day lockdown against the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown had plunged the dairy farmers into a serious financial distress, said John Theruvath, ERCMPU chairman in his appeal to K. Raju, Minister for Dairy Development, on Monday.

He said that it was unfortunate that dairy farmers were left out of the welfare measures announced by the State government by utilising money from the welfare funds.

The appeal for support for the dairy farmers engaged with Milma came even as the apex cooperative has been trying to solve the problem of excess procurement in the wake of a steep fall in demand. Milma was saddled with 70,000 litres of excess milk every day following the lockdown.

However, the State government has been able to solve the problem now with the help of Tamil Nadu which has agreed to allow its factories to engage in conversion into powder form the milk brought from Kerala.