Manipur: Small dairy farmer becomes one of the largest suppliers of milk in Manipur

A dairy farmer from Manipur, who started off with just three cows now owns a huge dairy farm with high-yeilding cows. Huirem Singh who lives in a small village in Manipur has set up the Chutok Dairy Farming Society Co-operative Ltd (CDFCSL) which is well-known for its contribution in fostering livelihood in the state. "Milk products are in high demand in Manipur. I see the potential to employ from people in the region. Hence, I started this dairy farm," said Huirem.

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One of the top milk providers in Manipur

Located in the Moirang Khunou Tera Makhong village, under Moirang sub-division, of Bishnpur disctrict, the CDFCSL supplying company was registered 1992 and is ranked in the list of top milk providers in Manipur. Huirem started his dairy farm in 2017 with just 3 cows and an investment of Rs 5 lakhs along with a cowshed. Today, the farm produces 100-300 litres of milk, supplied to the state's dairy plant, run by Manipur Milk Producers and Cooperative Union Ltd. 

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"Among the livestock, the cattle and the buffaloes are large in number and have many high yielding breeds, yielding around 30-40kg per day," said Dr Ng Ibotombi Singh, Managing Director, MMPCU. Currently, the state's average production is about 82,000 tonnes, which is not sufficient for the state. There needs to be a produce of over 200 thousand tonnes of milk in a year. 

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"Manure benefits the people"

Adding to the milk production in the state, Huirem also shared that manure from the farm benefits the people. "The food we eat today has lot of harmful chemicals, but if you have a dairy farm, you can use it as manure and it benefits our health. Vegetables grown with cow manure are much more delicious than the ones you get in the local market with chemicals," he explained. His staff now has six regular staff and earns an annual profit of Rs 4 to 5 lakhs per annum with 40 high milk yielding breed HF cows. One of his staffers Huirem Gopen said, "I am glad I got an opportunity to work here close to my home. It is helping me to earn my daily needs."

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