The dairy farmers and their associations have been aggressively protesting the milk prices in recent days. Yesterday, the Minister of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, announced in the state assembly that milk will fetch a rate of Rs 35 per liter. The state government also convened a meeting of dairy farmers.
Against this backdrop, Dr. Ajit Nawale, the state coordinator of the Milk Producer Farmers' Struggle Committee, has outlined the stance of the committee. Dr. Nawale says the committee has not participated in any discussions, as their demand is clear - milk should be priced at Rs 40 per liter. The government had earlier announced a subsidy of Rs 5 per liter, which the farmers feel is inadequate as 80% of them were deprived of the previous subsidy.
The minister has appealed to private and cooperative dairy unions to pay a minimum rate of Rs 30 per liter, so that farmers get Rs 35 per liter including the subsidy. However, the dairy unions have refused to pay Rs 30 per liter.
The government has now proposed providing a Rs 3 per liter subsidy to milk powder manufacturers, in an attempt to encourage them to pay Rs 30 per liter to farmers. But this subsidy will not benefit the 90 lakh liters of milk distributed directly to households by other companies, who are unlikely to pay Rs 30 per liter.
The Dudh Utpadhak Shetkari Sangharsha Samiti insists that instead of creating new complexities around subsidies, the government should take concrete steps to ensure that farmers get a minimum of Rs 40 per liter for their milk. The committee remains firm on this stance and has called for continued protests until this demand is met.