After Free Milk Distribution Protest, Maharashtra Dairy Farmers to Gherao the Ministry of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development

Maharashtra dairy farmers—who had staged a week-long protest against the low prices of dairy products in the state by distributing milk free of cost—have decided to strengthen their protest. During a gram sabha meeting at Lakhanga village in Aurangabad’s Vaijapur Taluka on Friday, the farmers have collectively decided to gherao the ministry of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development in Mumbai on June 1. 

“Following the gherao, farmers will march to the house of the minister of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development, and will demonstrate a sit-in protest until their demands are looked into,” said Ajit Navale of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS). 

“Though the government had announced a hike in subsidy of Rs. 3 per litre to milk cooperatives in the organised sector that process milk into the milk powder, it is not enough to meet the demands of the farmers,” Navale added. 

In Maharashtra, the cooperatives in the organised sector procure 1.3 crore litre of milk every day. Out of this 1.3 crore litre, only 40 lakh litre milk is being converted into the milk powder. Similar amount of milk is being procured in the unorganised sector also. Navale said that the newly declared subsidy scheme is inefficient to meet the demands of farmers. 

The dairy farmers across the state had demonstrated the week-long protest that started on May 3 to highlight the failure of BJP-led state government to intervene in the falling procurement prices of milk. Through a unique way of protest, the farmers had distributed milk free of cost at district centres and taluk centres. During the protest, AIKS and other farmers’ organisations had urged the state government to ensure the procurement prices, which had been fixed by the government. 

Most of the dairies were collecting milk at the rate of Rs 17 per litre, which means the farmers were bearing the loss of Rs 10 per litre of milk. The condition of farmers is more or less the same right now. 

The farmers and farmers’ organisations have been continuously raising the issue of minimum support price (MSP) for milk. Fifty percent increase in the sum of paid-out cost or C2 was one of the key demands during the farmers’ 11-day long strike, which started on June 1, last year. The government was then forced to announce a procurement price of Rs. 27 following discussions with the farmers. Till August 2017, the farmers were given the procurement price, which had been decided by the government. Later, the prices were slashed by the dairies. 

Again, the farmers’ organisations and farmers had raised the issue during the Kisan Long March, earlier this year. Though the government had assured them that they would intervene in the matter within a period of one and a half months, their promises didn’t materialise.