K.S. Mani, the chairman of the Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (KCMMF), popularly known as Milma, urged the Milk Federations across the country to recommit themselves to the founding principles of the cooperative dairy movement. He emphasized the importance of building a strong and thriving dairy sector while advocating for refraining from engaging in inter-state competition.
Speaking on the occasion of World Milk Day, Mani emphasized that back in the 1970s, a significant decision was made to embrace cooperative and federal principles, taking into consideration the prevailing circumstances in each state.
“This was a path-breaking initiative, backed by goals such as higher milk production and stronger generation of employment. The bottom line was to end malnutrition and presently we are now world’s largest milk producer and milk co-operatives have contributed immensely in achieving this. They have flourished by adhering to the co-operative and federal principles while upholding the interests of the consumers and welfare of the dairy farmers in their home states,” said Mani.
“But unfortunately, of late, there have been attempts by some milk federations to transgress the limits set by these founding ideals by marketing liquid milk beyond their borders. At the end of the day, this will lead to serious consequences to the dairy co-operative movement in the country as a whole. Some cooperatives are behaving much like monopolistic firms in capitalist economies. Such activities are a threat to India’s spirit of cooperative federalism,” added Mani.
Additionally, Mani highlighted that this matter will be deliberated upon during the upcoming meeting of the National Dairy Development Board.
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