Aavin on mission mode as daily buy dips by 1L litres

VELLORE/CHENNAI: Worried over daily milk procurement going down by over 1 lakh litres during the present flush season, the TN Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation (Chennai Aavin) has earmarked a series of strategies to increase production.

What has Aavin worried is that the flush season is when daily milk procurement increases whereas it falls during the lean season.

Reports accessed by DT Next revealed that Aavin suffered a total reduction of 1,11,239 litres a day on average in the 27 district unions.

Vellore, Tiurpattur, and Tiruvannamalai suffered reductions of 2,304 litres, 473 litres and 17,719 litres per day respectively in the period between September 2022 and September 2023. Thanjavur was the only district union to show a slight increase during the above period, sources added.

A circular from Aavin MD S Vineet to the general managers of the district milk producers unions dated October 13 asked them to concentrate on the 8,000 villages in TN which still lacked milk producers societies under the cooperative fold as the supply of available milk was also abundant. He also ordered that pending payment to milk farmers should not be more than 10 days maximum when the usual practice is for farmers to receive payment once a month or more, sources added.

Ordering GMs to ensure an uninterrupted supply of cattle feed and fodder to milk farmers supplying to Aavin, Vineeth also demanded that district unions arrange for credit facilities for farmers in local banks to meet their expenses.

Aavin MD cracks whip on lax field staff

According to an Aavin source, tightening the grip on district field staff adopting a lackadaisical approach to work, Aavin MD has ordered that the list of field visits by veterinarians reach him before the 5th of every month.

“The MD also highlighted the fact that districts undertake a proper survey to find out how many milk farmers are affected by reduced prices offered by private dairies were willing to switch over to Aavin and that efforts be taken to concentrate on retaining them within the Aavin fold,” sources added.

The president of the Milk Agents' Welfare Association, SA Ponnusamy, meanwhile, slammed Aavin for the sudden fall in milk procurement.

"Decreasing milk procurement is a deliberate conspiracy. Officials are involved in efforts to gradually privatise Aavin and are also deceiving Minister T Mano Thangaraj. The gradual reduction in the production of high-fat milk without increasing milk procurement is highly condemnable. The higher officials of the Aavin and the procurement employees should conduct regular field visits and take measures to increase milk procurement to save the Aavin," he opined.