Nagpur: Union Minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari has called for increasing milk production in the Vidarbha region. Speaking at the inaugural function of the Agrovision — a farmers expo patronised by him — Gadkari said milk production in each of the western Maharashtra districts is between 80 lakh to one crore litres a day. Vidarbha, on the other hand, cannot match this even with all its districts combined.
Gadkari said the Agrovision Foundation is also coming up with a 40,000 square feet complex with a convention centre, soil and cotton testing labs. There are plans to have what would be the largest market for organic produce. Here, farmers will themselves sell the crops without any intervention. The Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV) will develop its land at Dabha where the Agrovisoin event is being held.
On milk, Gadkari said the output needs to increase in the region, especially in the backdrop of Mother Dairy‘s plant coming up at Butibori. It also runs an existing facility taken over from the State Govt Milk Scheme at Seminary Hills.
The state govt has a scheme to distribute 15,000 cows to the farmers. However, for this, the livestock may have to be procured from Rajasthan or Gujarat. “Instead, farmers from Vidarbha should come forward and take up cow breeding,” he said.
“Nagpur’s central location can be leveraged by Mother Dairy for supplying milk across the country. Even export opportunities will open, ultimately benefiting the region’s farmers,” he said.
