The Lalitpur District Dairy Cooperative Union (LDDCU) plans to establish a Rs70 million digitalised milk processing plant in Chapagaun, Godavari Municipality. The fully automated plant will process 1,000 litres of milk per hour. It will have advanced equipment such as cream separator, homogeniser, chiller, pasteuriser and packaging machine.

“We aim to produce hygienic and quality milk products that are cent percent coliform-free,” said Uddhav Ghimire, manager of the union.

He added that they had spent Rs10 million out of their initial investment on buying land. “The government will provide half of the remaining Rs60 million,” said Ghimire. The union has received Rs20 million so far.

The planned milk processing plant is part of the One District One Product (ODOP) programme of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives. It will be operated in coordination with the National Cooperative Federation of Nepal.

The government has implemented the ODOP programme in 26 districts with the aim of increasing local employment, generating income and enhancing food security in the country by promoting farm modernisation.

According to Babul Khanal, deputy general manager of the National Cooperative Federation of Nepal, the government is promoting fish farming through the District Consumers’ Cooperative Union in Gorkha.

The LDDCU consists of 54 primary dairy cooperatives comprising 5,100 farmer households. As per the union, 65,000 litres of milk is produced daily in Lalitpur district. Ghimire said 40,000 litres is sold to business firms while the rest is sold by the farmers on an individual basis.

“As these unorganised farmers are being exploited by middlemen, they are expected to receive a good price and dividends when the planned processing plant goes into operation.” According to him, they have targeted starting production by the end of this fiscal year.

In the first phase, the processing plant will be used to produce dairy products such as curd, paneer, ghee and ice-cream. “Product diversification will help end ‘milk holidays’ that small milk producers have often been facing,” said Bikram Lama, chairman of Chaughare Dairy Cooperative at Chaughare, Kunjusong Rural Municipality-1.

The Agriculture Development Strategy that the government launched in 2015 has also envisioned improving milk productivity, mainly through small farmers. For the purpose, the government has aimed to develop the capacity of small farmers and provide financial and technical support to farmer-run cooperatives.

Sirish Pun, senior agro economist at the Ministry of Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives, said the ministry had set a deadline of the end of the fiscal year for the LDDCU to start operations. According to him, the ministry has provided up to Rs20 million to ODOP projects this year, based on the nature of their products.

As per the ministry, the government has selected Jhapa district for the production of betel nuts, Gorkha and Janakpur for fish, Ramechhap and Sindhuli for sweet orange, and Chitwan and Kanchanpur for banana. Likewise, Nuwakot and Rasuwa have been identified for the production of rainbow trout, Bhaktapur for hog plum, Sunsari for ginger and turmeric and Doti for basmati rice. Lamjung has been selected for the promotion of agro-tourism.

The government has handed over the ODOP programmes to local governments following the implementation of the federal system. The effectiveness of the programme could be undermined as there is a shortage of related human resources at the local level, said experts. Pun said the ODOP programme had been performing well in places where the appropriate technical manpower is available. “However, it’s a different story at other places,” he added.

• Rs 70 million plant to be fully automated with advanced equipment
• Will process 1,000 litres of milk per hour
• Hygienic milk products that are 100 percent coliform-free
• Part of One District One Product programme