Bhubaneswar, Jan, 20: The meeting of the Board of Directors of the Odisha State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited (OMFED) was held recently.
In the meeting, a proposal was approved to supply OMFED powdered milk to all Anganwadi centres and schools across the state. It was decided that discussions would be held with the state government and necessary steps would be taken in this regard.
Similarly, a decision was taken to establish a State Central Laboratory at Arilo. It was also decided to provide natural gas to milk processing plants through pipelines and to open an OMFED parlour at Arilo.
The meeting was held under the chairmanship of OMFED Chairman Kishore Chandra Pradhani. Managing Director Bijay Amrita Kulange, General Manager (Dairy Operations) Soumendra Bhaumik, General Manager (Finance) Suresh Chandra Alatiya, Deputy General Manager (Human Resources) Dr. Jayakrishna Pattnaik, along with senior officials and board members, were present.
Managing Director Bijay Amrita Kulange delivered the welcome address and requested the board members to share their views on how to take OMFED forward in the coming days and how to market high-quality, tasty, and healthy products. He also highlighted ways to increase milk collection and production and to ensure wider reach of OMFED products among the public.
Discussions were held on steps required to enhance production and expand the overall scale of OMFED. Board members presented various suggestions regarding future growth in milk procurement and introduction of new products.
All members welcomed the decision to open more “Kshira Dhara” milk collection centres, especially in rural areas, and unanimously expressed that this initiative should be expanded further.
The members also welcomed the fact that OMFED ghee is being offered to Lord Jagannath. Discussions have been held with the government on supplying OMFED ghee to major temples across the state in the future, the Managing Director informed the board.
It was also decided to expand the Chief Minister’s Kamadhenu Scheme to rural areas. Since the state government has approved Rs 65.49 crore for this purpose, all members congratulated the government.
Board Secretary Dr. Jayakrishna Pattnaik proposed the vote of thanks.