Lalitpur, June 18: Minister for Agriculture, Forest and Environment, Gita Chaudhary, has announced plans to enhance effectiveness of the National Dairy Development Board by ensuring legal amendments.
Empowerment of Board and introduction of farmer-friendly policies are equal priorities, she added.
During a discussion with dairy farmers in Lalitpur today, Minister Chaudhary shared government’s commitment to establish a fair price mechanism for milk, which would take into account production costs and market circumstances. The new pricing would also help secure timely payments for dairy products, according to her.
She, however, admitted political influences and the challenges posed by middlemen in the dairy sector. The Minister spoke for incentives in major areas such as electricity to support livestock farmers.
On the occasion, acting executive director of the Board, Dr Balak Chaudhary, underlined urgency of regulatory and monitoring measures to wipe out sales of substandard milk
General manager at the Dairy Development Corporation, Dr Sharan Kumar Pandey, shared initiatives taken for the support of dairy farmers and improvement in related industries.
Other speakers called for restructuring of the Board in order to build up its regulatory role and ensure quality in dairy products.
Leaders from the dairy and agricultural fields urged the Board to expand its jurisdiction to cover agricultural commodities and provide subsidized loans so that local farmers and businesses could be propped up. #nepal #rss
