| No. | Particular | Cost (Rs./MT) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cost of maize fodder | 2900 |
| 2 | Harvesting & transportation of fodder | 1900 |
| 3 | Cost of Baling | 1000 |
| 4 | Labour cost | 450 |
| 5 | Electricity | 750 |
| Total | 7000 |
Fodder Plus FPOs in Uttarakhand
Under the Central Sector Scheme "Formation and Promotion of 10K Farmer Produce Organizations (FPOs)", Uttarakhand Cooperative Dairy Federation Ltd (UCDF) has registered three Fodder Plus FPOs in Uttarakhand state with NDDB as IA. FPOs undertook various fodder related activities such as green fodder production, silage production, procurement of wheat straw, distribution of certified fodder seeds etc, which would help improving the productivity of dairy animals in the region.
Registration of FPOs
All three Fodder Plus FPOs have been registered under the Co-operative Society Act during 2023- 24 (Photo 1). FPOs namely “Pinder Chara Utpadak Sangathan Swayat Sahakarita” (Reg. No. DD-140, dated 5.6.23), “Shaktifarm Chara Utpadak Sahakari Samiti Ltd.” (Reg. No. 370, dated 15.6.23) and “Devsthal Chara Utpadak Sahakari Samiti Ltd.” (Reg. No. 1804, dated 4.9.23) have been registered in Doiwala block of Dehradun district, Basgar block of Udham Singh Nagar district and Dhari block of Nainital district (Hilly area), respectively.
Capacity Building
For capacity building of CBBO/FPO officers, one day training programme was conducted at NDDB, Noida. Three on-site training programmes were also conducted, at each FPO level for imparting training to FPO officers, BoDs and other concerned officers of UCDF. In addition, to create the awareness about the impact of feeding silage, FPOs conducted various village awareness programmes in their respective areas
Pathway to FPO
Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Accountants are appointed, and board meetings were conducted in each FPOs (Photo 3). Two instalments towards the management cost of CBBO (Rs. 5.0 lakh/FPO) and FPO (Rs. 6.0 lakh/FPO) have been received. Total membership of Pinder Chara, Shaktifarm Chara and Devsthal Chara FPOs are 305, 546 and 100 (hilly area), respectively, and received total equity grant of Rs. 11.16 lakh.
Fodder Activities
The production of silage started in July 2023 by FPO Pinder Chara and currently producing by Shaktifarm Chara FPO also. Initially, two silage baler machines (cap. 50 & 100 MTPD) were hired on rental basis from Punjab for production of 100 kg bale size (Photo 4). Green maize fodder was purchased in phased-manner from the farmers of nearby villages on cash/credit payment basis. Total business transaction done by all three Fodder FPOs are about Rs. 7.87 Cr.
Till date, total 6417 metric tonnes (MT) of maize silage has been produced and sold about 8240 MT (purchased 1823 MT). The silage is being sold @ Rs. 7500/MT to CBBO (UCDF) as well as other FPOs. For example, Bhilwara Fodder FPO (Rajasthan) purchased 35 MT of maize silage from Pinder Chara FPO, indicating a better opportunity for creating forward linkage between FPO-to-FPO. Dairy farmers are getting maize silage from UCDF @ Rs. 8000/MT. Milk producers in the state are getting subsidies @ 50-75% on different feeds and feed supplements. An indicative cost break-up for silage production by Pinder Chara FPO is given in Table 1. One-page leaflet on silage is developed for village awareness programmes (Photo 5).
In addition, FPOs in Uttarakhand are also engaged in bulk procurement and supply of dry fodder (wheat straw) to the milk producers and cattle feed plant (CFP), Rudrapur (UCDF). Till date, about 1090 MT of wheat straw bale has been produced and made available to the farmers.
