Nagpur: A group of women carefully kept their share certificates framed in glass to one side as they gathered to have lunch at the Mother Dairy plant at Seminary Hills on Sunday. They had come from villages in districts like Latur, Dharashiv (Osmanabad) and, closer by, Narkhed. Owners of four to five cattle each, they now also hold shares in an all-woman milk producers’ company that became operational on Sunday.
Their chairman, Varsha Chavan, a small-scale dairy farmer from a village in Dharashiv, owns three cows and three buffaloes. “I am happy to take the responsibility,” says a mild-mannered Chavan.
Incorporated early this year, the company ‘Marathvarhad‘ has women from villages across Marathwada and Vidarbha regions as shareholders. Its operations started on Sunday in the presence of Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari.
Gadkari hoped this ushers in a white revolution in Vidarbha, and the company is seen as a corporate alternative to the cooperative fabric that built the Amul brand in Gujarat.
Like Amul, Marathvarhad is supported by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). With a focus on setting up milk producers organisations (MPOs), which are companies instead of cooperatives, Marathvarhad is the 23rd in the country. In the region, it is the second, as in 2018 another MPO — Induja — was formed in Yavatmal to combat farmers’ suicides. The new company will be spreading its operations across the two regions drawing its name from Marathwada and Varadh (Vidarbha).
There are over 4,900 members at present, and a drive to add more continues, said company secretary Roshan Kalmegh. The women will bring milk to the company’s centres. Each of them has to subscribe to the company’s shares, for which a supply of 200 litres a year has to be committed. If the company earns profits, they receive a dividend proportional to the quantity poured in a year. So, the dividend increases with the incremental milk poured at the centres in the next year, he said.
There are 11 directors elected from among the members along with the chairman. One-fourth of them retire each year. The board also has three expert directors, said Kalmegh.
Box 1
Gadkari pushes Mother Dairy products
The ground breaking ceremony for setting up a packaging plant of Dhara, an edible oil brand of Mother Dairy, was also held on Sunday. Addressing the event, Union minister for road transport Nitin Gadkari called for the need to increase milk production in the two regions, Marathwada and Vidarbha. He said the daily output of both Marathwada and Vidarbha does not match that of a single district in western Maharashtra like Kolhapur or Sangli. Asking NDDB to support farmers here, Gadkari said he can spread the word for Mother Dairy products through his social media handles. The message would directly reach lakhs of followers at one go, he said.
Gadkari mentioned that even his village produces as much as 100 litres of milk every day. However, there was no Mother Dairy centre there. Maybe the company was scared of the local MLA, but now he has lost the elections, said the minister without naming anyone.
box 2
Santra Barfi shelf life increased
Mother Dairy expects to launch its new version of Santra Barfi with a longer shelf life soon. The sweet, which has the Nagpur orange as a component, was launched at the insistence of Union minister Nitin Gadkari. However, the present version has a short shelf life and has to be kept in a deep freezer, which also hampers its display in the outlets.
Talking to TOI, Mother Dairy managing director Manish Bandlish said the company has now been able to develop a new version. This would have a shelf life of a month. Mother Dairy also plans to export the new Santra Barfi. Bandlish said as much as 65% of the oranges it procures for making the sweet are from Nagpur.
