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Supporting Dairy Producers and Farmer Producer Organisations

In the year 2018, the Government of India (GoI) announced the Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund to modernise the dairy sector to assist farmers for better access to organised milk sectors. This initiative was funded by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) with a budget of Rs.8004 crore. SDCFPO is a Central Sector Scheme initiated under Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund through NABARD. The funds from NABARD will be monitored and released for farmers by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

Supporting Dairy Cooperatives and Farmer Producer Organizations (SDCFPO)

SDCFPO is a Central Sector Scheme initiated under Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund through NABARD. The funds from NABARD will be monitored and released for farmers by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

SDCFPO can be treated as a solution offered by GoI to the dairy farmers by providing capital loans to during inconsistent market conditions or unable to provide sufficient or any support due to natural calamities.

This scheme was initiated with a fund of Rs.300 crore for helping dairy farmers to operate through co-operative sectors for better price realisation. To increase the production of milk and milk products, GoI implemented SDCFPO throughout India.

GoI has releases Rs.300 crore in 2018-19 and Rs.100 crore in 2019-20.

Goal of the Scheme

The goal of this scheme is to provide a stable market platform by creating the necessary infrastructure for the milk producers and distributors to gain access to the organised milk sectors.

Objectives of the Scheme

• Provide soft working capital loans for dairy farmers to balance the income, livelihood and productivity during unstable market conditions or natural calamities
• Create a stable market platform for dairy farmers
• To enable an infrastructure that would provide access to all dairy farmers to organised milk sector for better pricing
• Prompt payment of dues to the dairy farmers through State Cooperative Dairy Federations
• Help to create a unit for farmers to increase the quality of milk and milk products
• To create employment opportunities among the rural sectors

Types of Financial Assistance

NABARD provides financial assistance through the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to develop the infrastructure of dairy production. NDDB provides soft working capital loans based on the requirements of the dairy farmer.

Interest Rate and Repayment of Loans

Interest rate and repayment of the loan depends on the risk profile of the borrower and the specifications of the project.

However, NDDB offers moratorium or waiting period of 2-4 years based on the project.

Eligible Criteria

• Dairy Farmers
• Individual Entrepreneurs
• Groups of organised, unorganised sector and Self Help Groups (SHG)

How to Obtain the Scheme

To obtain the scheme:

• The borrower should submit a Detailed Project Report (DPR) on the losses occurred to the Implementation and Monitoring Cell (IMC) at the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in the respective state.
• The approval of the loan will be recommended by NABARD through NDDB upon the relevance and detailed investigation.

Benefits of the Scheme

• Veterinary Emergency and Health Services are provided at the doorstep
• Beneficial for more than 95 lakh in 50,000 villages
• Dairy Farmers are updated on increasing the quality of the product, how to apply for the scheme during natural calamities, the process of repayment and marketing the products at national and international markets through training camps arranged by the Ministry of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
• Profit share by district unions to milk producers ranging from Rs.0.60 to Rs.1.60 per litre

GoI assists the farmers through the following schemes:

• National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD)
• Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme (DEDS)
• National Dairy Plan-I (NDP-I)
• Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF)
• Supporting Dairy Cooperatives and Farmer Producer Organizations engaged in dairy activities (SDCFPO)

These schemes will address the growing requirements of milk products per capita, the income level of dairy farmers, providing nutritious food products, update the technology to increase the dairy production for national and international markets and increase employment opportunities.

To know more about the process of availing the scheme, click here.