A.P.’s Shreeja dairy turns ten years old

Shreeja Mahila Milk Producer Company (SMMPC), the world’s largest women-owned and women-managed dairy that has helped lakhs of women achieve social and economic empowerment, has turned ten years old.

Started with just 27 members, it has reached the stage of being proudly owned by 1.09 lakh women, all of them cattle-rearing women from the countryside.

Chairperson S. Sridevi and Chief Executive Officer Jayateertha Chary announced a bonus of ₹10 crore to the shareholding women, at the tenth anniversary celebrations held here on Monday. “Since its inception, Shreeja has disbursed ₹30 crore as bonus and dividend, along with an impressive ₹3,600 crore towards milk bill payments,” Mr. Chary added.

The company’s operations are spread across Rayalaseema and Nellore districts, and it has received an invitation to expand into Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana. In recognition of its outstanding achievements, Shreeja has been selected as the implementing agency for a prestigious sex-sorted semen project in Rayalaseema region, under the Rashtriya Gokul Seva Mission, which is all set for launch on August 15.

With 200 milk parlours in the region, the company is planning to set up 600 more parlours in the next three years.