Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik inaugurates OMFED's Rs 263 crore milk processing plant

BHUBANESWAR/CUTTACK: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday inaugurated a state-of-the-art dairy and milk processing plant of the Odisha State Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation (OMFED) at Arilo in Cuttack district where 5 lakh litres of milk will be processed daily.
Set up over 51 acres of land, the automated plant has been developed by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) at an investment of Rs 263 crore.
The plant will produce 2-lakh litres of milk, 30,000 litres of curd, 10,000 litres of butter milk, 5,000 litres of lassi and other products like butter, cheese, flavoured milk and milk powder.
Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the plant, Naveen said OMFED is an institution with every single farmer having made a contribution for its development. "OMFED has also worked to protect the interest of dairy farmers of the state. Nearly 6 lakh dairy farmers will benefit due to the new plant, while it will also help them increase their income," said Naveen.
Following the commissioning of the new plant, the existing plant in the city, which used to employ 550 staff, will now shut down. The new plant can employ 650 people.
The chief minister also reiterated that increasing income of farmers is the key objective of various programmes of his government. The state has been facilitating subsidy of up to Rs 50 lakh to promote establishment of more dairy and milk processing units in the state, said the chief minister, urging the people to take advantage of various government programmes.
Naveen said a target has been set to increase daily milk production capacity of OMFED to 10 lakh litres per day. At present OMFED has 13 plants across the state while it collects nearly 5 lakh litres of milk per day. OMFED sources said it currently markets its products in Chhattisgarh while those from the new plants will be marketed in West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand.