Jagatsinghpur milk farmers demand price hike

Thousands of dairy farmers of Jagatsinghpur district have alleged harassment by State owned milk federation OMFED. 

JAGATSINGHPUR: Thousands of dairy farmers of Jagatsinghpur district have alleged harassment by State owned milk federation OMFED. They alleged that OMFED, which collects milk through its chilling centres at Tirtol and Balikuda blocks of the district, is yet to hike the price of milk and provide incentives even as private companies have already done it. 

Farmers said private milk producers are giving 90 paisa per litre as incentive. They said even as a litre of bottled water is sold at `20 to 25,  milk farmers get `22 to 27 per litre of milk and added that depletion of grazing land in rural areas due to widespread encroachment has led to scarcity of grass and rise in price of animal feed. The milk farmers have demanded to fix the MSP of milk at `30 per litre. 

They further said the OMFED is exploiting them by procuring milk for a pittance and selling it at a premium to make huge profits. “OMFED’s profits should be equally distributed among dairy farmers,” they said and threatened that if the authorities fail to fulfil their demands, milk farmers across the district would resort to agitation.Contacted, Manager (Laboratory) OMFED Milk Chilling Plant, Tirtol Pradyumna Swain said the price of milk procured by OMFED from dairy farmers is fixed by the State Government and they have no role in it.

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