Rs 1,433 Cr Dairy Plan to Benefit 5 Lakh Farmers in Jammu Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday chaired a high-level review of the Rs 1,433 crore Jammu and Kashmir Dairy Processing Infrastructure Development Scheme (JKDPIDS), underscoring the immense potential of the UT’s dairy sector and its role in rural economic growth.

Calling the initiative “an economic transformation for rural Jammu and Kashmir,” Abdullah urged that organised milk processing be scaled up from the current 4 per cent to at least 20 per cent within the next seven years. The expansion, he said, would guarantee better prices, timely payments, and improved market access for more than five lakh dairy farmers.

Principal Secretary, Agriculture Production Department (APD), Shailendra Kumar, briefed the meeting on the scheme, implemented by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) as the nodal agency. Plans include establishing 10 automated milk processing plants across 18 districts (excluding Srinagar and Jammu), increasing milk collection and chilling capacity to 10 lakh litres per day (LLPD), setting up 100 milk testing laboratories, and forming 10,000 farmer-owned dairy collectives.

Abdullah instructed all Deputy Commissioners to identify and transfer 40–50 kanals of encumbrance-free land for each processing plant, and called for inter-departmental coordination to ensure road connectivity, electricity, and water supply to project sites.

The Chief Minister directed NDDB and the Animal Husbandry Department to expedite agreements on sexed semen production and fodder development to boost productivity, while urging NABARD to ensure prompt fund releases and strict financial oversight.

Highlighting the projected benefits, Abdullah said the scheme would significantly increase cooperative turnover, create thousands of jobs, and enable the supply of hygienic, export-ready milk. He emphasised that the dairy sector could become a “pillar of rural prosperity and a driver of export excellence” if implemented with urgency and precision.

The meeting was attended by Agriculture Minister Javid Ahmad Dar, Advisor Nasir Aslam Wani, Additional Chief Secretary Dheeraj Gupta, senior officials from NDDB, NABARD, SKUAST Jammu, and other stakeholders.