First All India Dairy Farmers’ Workshop Concludes

Dairy Farmers’ Workshop Demands Fare & Remunerative Price, Sharing of Industrial Surplus of Value-Added Milk

Press Statement, May 16, 2022

Decisions: (1) To Form All India Dairy Farmers’ Federation

(2) To Observe November 26, 2022, Birth anniversary of Varghese Kurien,

as Dairy Farmers’ Day

(3) Demand Amendment on Acts Banning Cattle Fairs: Either Open Cattle Trade Market

Or Pay Market Rate to Dairy Farmers

The charter of demands adopted by the All India Dairy Farmers’ Workshop held at Kozhikode insists the Union Government to ensure Fare and Remunerative price to all the dairy farmers. As per the data available, the dairy farmers are not getting even the cost of production out of the price they received through the dairy cooperatives and intermediaries of the private corporate dairies. During the lockdown period the price of milk was reduced to half in different parts of the country bringing havoc and huge loss to farmers while the large Dairy corporate and cooperatives have earned attractive profit. The workshop demanded that the Union Government shall enact law to ensure sharing of industrial surplus of value added milk products by the cooperatives as well as the corporate companies with the milk producers as additional price as per the ratio of the milk procured from them.

The Kerala Dairy Co-operative MILMA gives Rs 38 per litre while the dairy farmers in other parts of the country get in the range of Rs-17 to Rs-35 for cow milk. It is made possible since 83% of the income generated from sales of milk is earmarked for the milk producers.  On the other hand farmers elsewhere are not getting the cost of production and also have to bear losses.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act should be amended to include dairy farming and provide 100 days of wage to all the farmers who own minimum two milk animals and give milk to the cooperative society. The model implemented by the LDF Government of Kerala through the Ayyankali Uraban Employment Guarantee Scheme (AUEGS) shows this to be possible. As per this scheme Rs 32,400 per year is released to dairy farmers in the urban region. If it is extended across the country, that will bring an amazing development in the diary sector and milk production in India and enhance the livelihood security of people in the rural area.

The large scale entry of private Dairy Corporate Companies and import of foreign dairy products threatens the existence of Dairy Cooperatives. Many foreign companies have merged with Indian Dairy companies and dominate the market today. Dairy Co-operatives cannot compete with the foreign corporate companies enjoying heavy subsidy from their Governments. The Union Government must withdraw from its plan to open the Indian market by permitting Free Trade on milk and milk based products under the pressure of Imperialist forces.

The RSS-BJP led State Governments in a number of States have banned cattle trade by communalising the cow slaughter issue thus brought havoc to cattle economy that used to provide 27% of the household income of peasant families. This imprudent move had the double impact on dairy farmers – losing income from their cattle wealth and mushrooming stray cattle menace that destroys standing crops. The workshop strongly condemned the communal mindset of RSS-BJP leadership and demand immediately open the cattle trade markets or let the respective State Governments pay market price to cattle and procure and rear them in the cow shelters.

The first All India Dairy Farmers’ Workshop was held at Kozhikode, Kerala on 14-15 May 2021 and attended by 71 delegates. All India Kisan Sabha and P Sundarayya Memorial Trust jointly organised the workshop.  The Workshop was inaugurated by Dr. Ashok Dhawale, the president of AIKS. AIKS Joint Secretary Vijoo Krishnan chaired the inaugural session. P Mohanan Master and Panoli Valsan spoke.

The different sessions were addressed by Dr Sudheer Babu (Registrar of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Science University [KVASU]), Dr Dinesh Abrol (Faculty at Institute for Studies in Industrial Development), Vijaymba R (Indian Statistical Institute), Inderjit Singh, Dr Ajit Nawale, Ranjini Basu,  Nidheesh Johny Villatt and P Krishnaprasad. Delegates from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka, Tripura, Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Haryana, Gujarat, Assam, UP and Manipur took part in the workshop.

The Workshop decided upon an Organising Committee with P.Krishnaprasad, Ajit Nawale, Padmakumar and Mohammed Ali as coordinators and representatives from all States and representatives of the Dairy Cooperatives. Formation of an All India Dairy Farmers’ Federation will take forward the struggles in this sector for interventions to improve Dairy Cooperatives and protect the interest of farmers. A memorandum and charter of demands will be submitted to the Ministry and November 26 the Birth Anniversary of Verghese Kurien, will be commemorated and observed as Dairy Farmers’ Day. State level Organisations will be formed and Protest actions on issues of Dairy Farmers will be carried out.

Released by

Hannan Mollah                                                                       Ashok Dhawale

General Secretary                                                                   President