Abbott, a leading company in nutrition, diagonistics, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals, and Prabhat Dairy, an integrated milk and dairy products company, have joined hands with dairy farmers in Shrirampur, Maharashtra, to celebrate the launch and early success of their programme ‘NirmalDhara,’ focussed on developing local economies and increasing farmer capacity to produce quality milk.
As per a release, early results of the programme in the first five villages are encouraging, with more than 350 farmer households already participating in the programme since initial efforts began in March 2016. Through ongoing training, incentives, expertise and improved infrastructure, the programme aims to empower dairy farmers to increase both the quantity and quality of their milk. Both companies have opened new model milk collection centres in the five villages, which allows farmer to sell milk in their own communities.
The programme aims to expand from five initial villages viz Kolhar, Ozer, Bhandgaon, Bel-Pimpalgaon and Nimgaonwagha to five additional villages by the end of 2016, with the goal of reaching up to 1,500 farmers.
Investing in farmers
"Many farmers in rural Maharashtra have taken on dairy farming as means to increase their income. Working together with Abbott, we aim to provide farmers with the tools and resources they need to grow their family farms," said Vivek Nirmal, joint MD, Prabhat. "This will help to propel local economies, while also providing Abbott and Prabhat with an expanded supply of quality milk."
The programme aims to support dairy farmers in three ways:
Providing training and resources for small-holder farmers – especially women farmers – in financial and business skills, veterinary care, feeding and dairy development.
Building critical infrastructure, including new bulk milk chiller facilities in local communities, in an effort to provide safe and reliable cold storage to ensure high-quality milk.
Providing a reliable, sustainable market that supports transparent, consistent prices based on quality of milk.
Combining unique capabilities
To advance the programme, each partner is applying its unique and complementary expertise and resources to support local dairy farmers. The company is sharing its modern dairy, engineering, nutrition and business expertise and resources to create new infrastructure and systems for dairy in Maharashtra, including 10 milk chilling centres. It has also engaged the international non-profit TechnoServe to design and implement customised training programmes that are meaningful for farmers, including trainings on animal husbandry, finance and women’s empowerment.
Prabhat has deep milk collection experience in India, and is playing an important role in bringing change in the life of farmers at grassroot level through various initiatives such as fodder management, cattle management, creation of self-help groups, women empowerment and employment generation. In the current drought situation, the company is educating farmers on how to take care of their cattle and the various techniques on fodder management such as hydroponics, azolla and silage which require less water for growth and have good nutrition value. The company is also demonstrating the new model to farmers in other villages, helping to replicate the programme across the region.
"Our nutrition business needed a sustainable approach to securing quality milk in India – which provided us with an opportunity to tackle complex social and economic barriers in an innovative way," said Katherine Pickus, divisional VP, global citizenship and policy, Abbott. "We know that there is strength in partnership. Prabhat and TechnoServe bring incredible depth that complements Abbott's expertise. By working together to bring farmers into the organised dairy industry, we’re aiming to strengthen the supply chain, while helping farmers to build better lives and stronger communities."
