Under the guise of the central government’s Rashtiya Gokul Mission scheme for dairy farms, a big lobby is profiting by smuggling cows from Kerala to Tamil Nadu. In the scheme, Rs 4 crore will be allocated for rearing up to 200 cows, with Rs 2 crore as central subsidy and Rs 2 crore as bank loan. The farm needs five acres of land.
In Kerala, prices are high and land availability is low. Cow farming is not profitable due to high cost and low production efficiency. Many are forced to sell their cows. The complaint is that since enough land is available in Tamil Nadu at a low price, the lobby from there is buying low productivity cows from Kerala and grabbing the subsidy. Due to the decrease in the number of cows, milk production in Kerala has also decreased.
Buying cows from Kerala
Low milk cows are available in Kerala starting from Rs 25,000. In Tamil Nadu the price is up to Rs.1 lakh. Cow farming is profitable and demand is high. This is the reason to buy more cows from Kerala.
The State Dairy Department provides subsidized loans for cattle rearing through the Milkshed Development Program (MSDP). Cattle should be bought from outside to prevent fraud. Realizing that farmers are forced to sell these cows as their resistance to disease decreases and they die, the Tamilnadu lobby is buying such cows and stealing the central subsidy.
Tamil Nadu lobbying to steal central government funds should be stopped.Kerala should find milk and high yielding breeds of cows through research.
Source : India Posts Dec 22nd 2023
