Cooperatives once a movement of socio-economic transformation in Jammu & Kashmir like many states and Union Territories of the country went into suspension mode from 2008 onwards but from last years the focus of the incumbent Government on reviving cooperative societies and encouraging registration of many more cooperative societies has generated hopes of revival of the erstwhile cooperative movement in Jammu & Kashmir. Cooperative societies have not been registered just in diary but many poultry and fishing cooperative societies have also been established in Jammu & Kashmir. Irrefutable fact is that the allied economic activities of agriculture sector like dairy and poultry farming are the biggest sources of employment and income generation in Jammu & Kashmir like many states and union territories of the country. While Jammu & Kashmir is known for inking many success stories in the cooperative sector and one such major success story is the J&K Milk Producers Cooperative established in the year 2004, the incumbent Jammu & Kashmir Government too is largely focusing on increasing livelihoods through development of dairy farming in both Kashmir Valley and as well as Jammu division . Never forget that Jammu & Kashmir Milk Producers Cooperative Limited came into existence way back in the year 2004 when two loss making Milk Federations of erstwhile J&K State were liquidated to establish “Jammu & Kashmir Milk producers Co-operative Ltd” (JKMPCL) a new organisation in the dairy development sector with the active support of AMUL. From 2004 onwards Jammu & Kashmir Milk Producers Cooperative Ltd (JKMPCL) played a central role in raising the production of milk from 50,000 litres a day to 3 lac lires a day. Presently under the integrated dairy development scheme (IDDS) dairy farmers are liable to get financial assistance to expand their business to other allied economic activities.
The expansion of the dairy farming in cooperative sector is largely designed to generate more and more livelihood opportunities and consequently reduce the increasing intensity of joblessness and expand the scope for more and more investments in dairy farming in villages across Jammu & Kashmir. Increasing interest of youth in dairy farming won’t just generate more and more livelihoods in villages but it would also further the causes of rapid expansion of dairy farming in Jammu & Kashmir.
Dairy Entrepreneurship Development scheme is yet another scheme designed and implemented for assistance to dairy farmers for setting up small dairy farms. Experiences have shown that several small dairy farms generate more employment than a cooperative society like J&K Milk Producers Cooperative. The main motive of boosting the dairy development is to boost the rural economy by generating more and more livelihood opportunities for the jobless women and youth in Jammu & Kashmir. The expansion of the dairy farming in cooperative sector is largely designed to generate more and more livelihood opportunities and consequently reduce the increasing intensity of joblessness and expand the scope for more and more investments in dairy farming in villages across Jammu & Kashmir. Increasing interest of youth in dairy farming won’t just generate more and more livelihoods in villages but it would also further the causes of rapid expansion of dairy farming in Jammu & Kashmir.
editor@ thekashmirhorizon.com
