Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today disbursed special Covid assistance to dairy farmers of the State, said an official press release.
As many as one lakh dairy farmers have received the assistance of up to Rs 6,000. A total of Rs 11 crore has been disbursed towards assistance, the release said.
It is pertinent to mention here that 3700 milk producers’ cooperative societies and 2.63 lakh dairy farmers are producing milk through OMFED. This includes 1292 women cooperative societies and 1, 05,000 women dairy farmers.
Speaking on the occasion, Patnaik at the outset congratulated the Indian team for its success at the Olympics and said, “We are all proud for the outstanding success of the Indian hockey team”.
The Chief Minister stated that the State government is always with the poor and is always working to protect their interests.
In order to lessen the burden of the Covid pandemic on the poor people, the State government has deposited more than Rs 2000 crore in the bank accounts of small shopkeepers, small farmers and women members of Mission Shakti, he added.
Highlighting the contribution of dairying in the income of small farmers, Patnaik said that it not only augments their income it also enlivens the rural economy.
Milk in addition to boosting the income of womenfolk, plays a great role in providing nutrition to the people especially to children, therefore, by increasing milk production, the State government aims to further raise the nutrition level of the State, the Chief Minister stated.
Patnaik said that the State government is providing subsidies to dairy farmers in the State through various schemes. He urged the dairy farmers to fulfil the milk production target of the State taking advantage of these schemes.
Participating in the programme, Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Minister Arun Sahu highlighted the various programmes and schemes of the State for boosting milk production.
Bargarh MLA Debesh Acharya, Nabarangpur MLA Sadasiv Pradhani, and Badamba MLA Debi Prasad Mishra also spoke on the occasion.
During the programme, three farmers from Bargarh, Nabarangpur and Cuttack spoke with the Chief Minister and expressed their gratitude for the special assistance.
Taking part in the discussion, Satyabati Sahu from Bargarh, Khokan Biswas from Nabarangpur and Bijayalaxmi Swain from Cuttack said that the government is extending various types of assistance in the shape of cattle feed, medicines, mineral mixtures for the promotion of dairy farming.
They said that it was for dairy farming that they have developed economically and have been able to provide higher education to their children and build a house.
Secretary to Chief Minister (5T) VK Pandian moderated the programme.
While Fisheries & Animal Resources Development Secretary K Reghu read the welcome note, the Director gave the vote of thanks.
Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, Agriculture Production Commissioner RK Sharma and Principal Secretaries of various departments also attended.