The Hindu : Commerce chamber, NGO join hands to promote dairy activity

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 07, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Nizamabad

Commerce chamber, NGO join hands to promote dairy activity

NIZAMABAD JAN. 6. The Nizamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) and Gram Abhyudaya Mandali (GRAM), an NGO, have entered into a strategic understanding to promote dairy activity through members of Mutually Aided Cooperative Societies (MACS) in the district.

This first-of-its-kind attempt between a trade body and a voluntary organisation in the State is expected to go a long way in forging rural linkages. The NCCI president, Rajeev Puri, and the former president, D. Gautam, the Gram Director, N. Samson, and chairpersons of the MACS federation participated in a lively interactive programme organised at the Gram training centre in Suddapalli in Dichpalli mandal.

Realising the tremendous potential to develop dairy activity, the NCCI in its recent survey had pleaded with the district administration to encourage such units. The survey noted that the milk production in the district was meagre and in no way was meeting the needs of the people of the district. Every day two lakh litres of milk was required in the district but the supply was not even half of it.

The NCCI has been saying that the beedi industry, which was the main source of employment for the people of the district was in dire straits and it would not last longer. Instead, the NCCI found out that dairy was one activity, where the women could be actively involved.

Mr. Rajeev Puri said the chamber would extend all possible assistance to MACS members to start the dairy activity. They said they were ready to provide the technical support, marketing for the dairy products, financial management. He only wanted the MACS to come up with a project report and the NCCI would do the rest of it.

The chamber chief said that the 14 MACS federations promoted by Gram had a strength of 34,000 members and that itself was sufficient to take up dairy activity in a big way. He observed that proper guidance and motivation was the key to success of any unit. He said the MACS members could start their activity from their houses and go for milk production. He stated that the members themselves were capable of monitoring the milk production and transportation of the same. The chamber chief said that it would ensure that the College of Dairy Science faculty interacted with MACS members once the dairy business was taken up.

The former president of the chamber, Mr. Goutam, said the NCCI was ready to forge an alliance with any organisation as long as it ensured economic development of the district. The NCCI was willing to provide all help to the organisations which sought their services.

Mr. Samson said that exposure visits for the MACS members to Mulkanoor cooperative dairy society in Karimnagar district would be organised shortly. The Mulkanoor society has set a fine example in how thrift group members could reap benefits by taking up the right project. He said on its part Gram would provide land to the MACS at its Suddapalli training centre to establish the dairy industry. The 40-acre land could also be used for fodder cultivation.

He said several Government and other financial institutions had come forward to extend financial assistance to the MACS federation based on their performance. The NGO was holding talks with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and Basix, another private financial services firm to take up projects for MACS members.

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Andhra Pradesh