Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said the state government will give a major push to the agriculture allied activities for supplementing the income of farmers.
The chief minister said it is the need of the hour to bail out farmers from the crisis.
He was speaking at an event to launch a Verka milk plant with a capacity of processing one lakh liters of milk.
Due to increasing agricultural inputs and diminishing returns, agriculture is no longer a profitable venture, said Mann, adding that in such a scenario, the allied activities can bail out farmers and will reduce the dependence of farmers only on fields.
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He also said this project -- set up at a cost of Rs 15 crore -- will also give a major push to the dairy farming sector.
The chief minister said besides giving impetus to dairy farming, it will also help in checking the supply of spurious milk in the state.
Another such plant with six times more capacity is coming up at a cost of Rs 100 crore in Ludhiana, Mann said, adding that the same will also be dedicated to people soon.
He said stringent quality checks are also being introduced in these plants.
The chief minister asserted that the upgradation of the procurement infrastructure is the need of the hour to ensure that the best quality of milk is collected from villages and further supplied to consumers after processing.
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The farmer-friendly schemes should be implemented to boost the dairying business amongst the youth so as to make them financially independent and self-reliant, he noted.
Verka products like ghee, milk, curd, and kheer, among others, have huge potential across the globe, he added.
(Inputs from PTI)
