Sikkim Milk Union hikes procurement rate again

WITH THIS, FARMERS ARE TODAY RECEIVING 135.29% MORE SINCE THEIR EARNINGS IN APRIL 2007
GANGTOK, 06 May: The Sikkim Milk Union [SMU] has enhanced its procurement price for the farmers with effect from 01 April 2012. A press release issued by the Managing Director, SMU informs that the decision on this was accorded by the Sikkim Milk Union Board and the same was concurred by the state government.
The Sikkim Milk Union has shown consistent progress in the last four years by making profit and transferring benefit to the farmers in form of price hike and bonus incentives. To go in tune with the business requirement and to benefit farmers, the Sikkim Milk Union recently revised its procurement and consumer price of milk, the release informs.
In the last four years, the Sikkim Milk Union has revised its farmers’ procurement prices with an increase of about 111.76% from the 2007 levels. The increase was done by Rs. 2 per litre in July 2011, Rs. 1 per litre in October 2010, Rs. 1.50 during the month of March 2010, Rs. 1.50 per litre during June 2009, Rs. 2 per litre during 2008 and Rs. 1 per litre in the month of August 2007.
Now, a further upward revision of Rs. 2 per litre has been provided to the farmers.
The release states that with this revision, the farmers’ procurement has gone up by 135.29% higher than the rates of April 2007 to benefit them.
At the revised rate, the price of average milk having 4.0% Fat and 8.0% SNF milk is paid the rate of Rs.22.05 per litre and the minimum acceptable quality of having 3.5 % Fat and 7.5 % SNF is paid at the rate of Rs. 20.00 per litre and good quality milk with 5.5 % Fat and 8.5 % SNF is paid at the rate of Rs. 26.80 per litre to the village milk cooperative societies.
The newly revised milk payment for the month of April 2012 to the village Milk Cooperative Societies was released by the Sikkim Milk Union on 03 May 2012. Subsequently the village milk societies are releasing the payments at the revised rates to farmers for the milk supplied during the month of April 2012. About 10000 farmers’ families are being benefited out the enhanced procurement milk price, the release adds.

Livestock awareness prog at Rizey

GANGTOK, 22 March: A day-long awareness programme on Dairy, Piggery and Poultry Management and Production for farmers was organized by the Department of Animal Husbandry, Livestock, Fisheries and Veterinary Services [East District] at Rizey under Naitam-Nandok GPU yesterday.
The awareness programme included a free Veterinary Mobile Clinic to cater to the needs of livestock farmers in the area.
A press release issued by Joint Director [East], Dr. Sangay Dorjee Bhutia, who was also a resource persons for the programme, informs that the awareness programme intended to bring awareness among the farmers on latest technologies and livestock rearing practices. It is informed that 50 farmers of the area participated in the programme.
The programme also had Superintendent of State Veterinary Poly Clinic, Dr BM Chettri, Deputy Director [Pakyong Sub- Division], Dr DP Pradhan and field functionaries as other resource persons.
The release adds that a calf rally was also organized for calves born through both, artificial insemination and natural services, under the Genetic up-gradation programme of the Department. It is informed that the owners of the first three position’s calves were also provided the cash prizes and consolation prizes were provided to all participants.
The programme had Pabyuk Panchayat president, Rinzing Ongmu Lepcha as the chief guest, and was accompanied by Panchayat vice-president of Bhusuk, Dawa Doma Bhutia, Panchayat member, Dawa Pintso Lepcha and Panchayat secretary of Nandok, Chandra Kant Sharma.

APO demo project on Productivity and Food Safety Management ends

GANGTOK, 16 Mar: The closing workshop of Asian Productivity Organization [APO] demonstration project on productivity and food safety management in the Sikkim Cooperative Milk Producers Union Limited organised by the Sikkim Milk Union was held at Chintan Bhawan today.
Addressing the gathering, the chief guest Minister for Cooperation, RB Subba stated that it was a matter of prestige for the State to be chosen by APO for the project from all the North Eastern states and added that the experts have done all the hard work in the past one and a half years on the project and it was now time for us to put them into effect.
The experts have shown that Sikkim has the potential and to make this a reality we all need to work together and to do this there is a need for coordination and cooperation amongst all the people involved, he said and added that above all there was a need to bring awareness amongst the farmers to produce quality milk, while the department needs to work at the ground level to increase productivity.
Stating that this was the scientific age, the Minister said that it is time now for us to make use of technology and that there was a need to bring awareness amongst the employees and workers of the Sikkim Milk Union, too.
Earlier, the gathering was also addressed along with a power-point presentation by Pieter Willem de Jongh [international consultant from Netherlands] and Dr. P Senthil Kumar [Managing Director, Sikkim Milk Union]. A brief outline on objective of the project was presented by KD Bharadwaj [senior project officer, APO, Japan].
During his power-point presentation, the MD [SMU] Dr. P Senthil Kumar informed that the project was started in September 2010 and has taken one and a half years to be implemented. This was not the closing but just the beginning of the work for the employees and workers of SMU, he expressed.
He also presented the outcome of the project and future course of action to be taken by SMU in the days to come, while the chief resource person, Pieter Willem stated that much had been achieved in the past one year by SMU, but there was still a long way to go.
The workshop was attended by the Board of Directors, Sikkim Milk Union, Secretary Cooperative Department, Chairman SMU, officials from the Animal Husbandry, Cooperative departments, officials of Sikkim Milk Union and members representing various public sector units.

District Level Awareness on Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme held at Namchi

NAMCHI, 21 Dec: The District Level Awareness Programme on Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme (DEDS) for Bankers, NGOs, Farmers Clubs and other agencies was conducted today here at Namchi by NABARD. The objective of the Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme is to promote setting up of modern dairy farms for production of clean milk, to encourage heifer calf rearing thereby conserving good breeding stock, to bring structural changes in the unorganized sector so that initial processing of milk can be taken up at the village level itself, to bring about up gradation of quality and traditional technology to handle milk on a commercial scale and to generate self – employment and provide infrastructure mainly for unorganized sector.

Training on Dairy and Piggery management concludes

GANGTOK, 16 Oct: Twenty-two trainees from different places of East Sikkim completed an intensive training on Dairy and Piggery Production and Management on 14 October at Animal Husbandry Department Extension & Training Centre, Deorali.
The three-day training was organised by the Department of Animal Husbandry, Livestock, Fisheries and Veterinary Services for members of self-help groups and educated unemployed youth.

Asian Productivity Organization experts visit Gangtok dairy plant with productivity improvement tips

GANGTOK, 26 Aug: the Asian Productivity Organization (APO), Japan had selected the Sikkim Milk Union to be developed into a Demonstration company with National Productivity Council (NPC), New Delhi as the principal implementing agency with the objective of showcasing how a company in the public sector can successfully design and implement productivity improvement initiatives. The project was started in the year 2010 and is expected to be completed by March 2012.
Pieter Willem de Jongh, an International Dairy Expert from Netherlands deputed by APO to work on the processing improvement and productivity, and India expert, KVR Raju are on their second visit to Sikkim Milk Union [from 17 to 27 August], informs a press release.

Sikkim Milk increases procurement price of milk by Rs. 2

GANGTOK, 10 Aug: The Sikkim Milk Union has enhanced its procurement price for dairy farmers with effect from 01 July benefitting about 9,000 farmers. In the last four years, the Sikkim Milk Union has revised its farmers’ procurement prices with an increase of about 88.23% from the 2007 levels. Now, a further upward revision of Rs. 2 per litre has been provided to the farmers and with this revision, the farmers’ procurement has gone up 111.76% higher than the rates of April 2007 to benefit them, informs a press release.