Shillong, June 1: West Assam Milk Producers’ Cooperative Union Ltd (WAMUL), popularly known as Purabi Dairy, has been focusing on sustainable dairy farming, taking into account the environmental, nutritional and socio-economic aspects.
On the occasion of World Milk Day on Tuesday, WAMUL shared various initiatives taken by the cooperative for the dairy farmers of Assam.
WAMUL, through various field-based interventions, has always emphasized on making use of sustainable sources of energy to ensure maximum benefits to the dairy cooperatives and the farmers associated with it.
“From installing solar powered Automatic Milk Collection System (AMCS) at Dairy Cooperative Societies (DCS) to introducing Flexi Biogas systems to dairy farmers on a pilot basis, WAMUL has ensured minimizing cost & maximizing benefits to all the stakeholder associated with dairying,” a statement from the cooperative said.
Such interventions have also been introduced under the World Bank-funded Assam Project for Agribusiness & Rural Transformation (APART). More than 220 solar powered AMCS, two solar powered Instant Milk Chilling Systems were provided to the DCSs and Bulk Milk Cooling Centre, the corporation announced on the occasion.
“By tapping into the solar energy, the aim is to reduce the carbon footprint, along with reducing the operational cost, improving the milk quality and having a transparent milk collection environment. In view of the success and efficiency of the aforementioned systems, in time to come, WAMUL plans to roll out the Flexi Biogas model (along with Consolidated Manure Management) and solar powered BMC/ Milk Chilling Centre across Assam on a substantial scale,” it added.
The theme for this year’s World Milk Day, set by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, was ‘sustainability in the dairy sector’. It aims to re-introduce dairy farming to the world, by helping to create a low-carbon future for dairy.
