Vadodara/ Anand: The country’s first women-led manure cooperative got further boost on Friday as 150 biogas plants were sanctioned for women farmers of Mujkuva village of Anand district.
Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Dilip Rath, launched the next phase of manure management initiative at Mujkuva Dairy Cooperative Society.
The Mujkuva Sakhi Khad Sahakari Mandli has been granted NDDB’s trademark ‘Sudhan’ for manufacturing bio slurry-based organic fertilisers while 150 women farmers have been sanctioned biogas plants. These are in addition to the 42 biogas plants that have been installed earlier.
In order to promote ayurvedic veterinary medicine, medicinal plants were also distributed to women farmers.
Under the initiative, biogas plants are installed by the dairy farmers in their backyard for producing gas that is to be used as cooking fuel.
The bio slurry produced from these biogas plants is primarily used by the farmers in their own field and surplus bio slurry gets sold to other farmers or is converted into organic fertilisers.
The mandli, which was earlier coordinating the management and sale of surplus bio slurry from women members, will now also take up slurry processing and manufacturing of organic fertiliser.
NDDB’s Sudhan trademark will help the mandli in creating an identity and ensuring quality of products.
NDDB has started work on supporting two more such projects in Bihar’s Begusarai district and Odisha’s Cuttack district.