WHITE REVOLUTION?: Mandali Buddha Prasad, Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries, admiring the spectrum of dairy products being shown by Adhar Sinha, Managing Director of APDDCF in Hyderabad on Thursday. — Photo: P.V. Sivakumar

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh Dairy Development Cooperative Federation Limited (APDDCF) has agreed to set up 136 bulk milk-chilling units in the State this year at a cost of Rs. 75 crore to give a boost to milk production.

Announcing this at a State-level workshop on empowering dairy farmers through milk procurement by women's thrift groups under Indira Kranthi Patham (IKP) here on Thursday, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Minister Mandali Buddha Prasad said one bulk milk-chilling centre with a capacity of 5,000 litres or two 2,000 litres units would be established in each mandal.

Milch cattle

These chilling units would get supplies from the automatic milk collection centres set up in each village. Mr. Buddha Prasad said 1 lakh milch cattle will be purchased at 25 per cent subsidy from other States to improve the quality of milk production. He said 50 per cent rebate was given on the cattle insurance scheme. Other initiatives include strengthening of the existing dairies and chilling centres and modernisation of the milk product factory in Hyderabad.

Minister confident

Rural Development Minister G. Chinna Reddy expressed confidence that the Gross State Domestic Product would increase as the Government was paying attention to agriculture and its allied activities.

Special Chief Secretary (Animal husbandry) Priyadarshi Dash said an amount of Rs. 500 crore had been earmarked in this budget to develop the department.

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