Minister for Animal Husbandry and Sericulture A Manju on Friday said the government has allocated Rs 7.5 crore for providing three goats each at a subsidised rate to 10,000 widows.
He was speaking at the launch of a goat’s milk brand named ‘MyGoat’ here. “One unit each, consisting of a pair of female goats and a male goat, would be given to 10,000 widows in the first phase. The state would bear 75% of the unit cost and the remaining amount will be borne by the beneficiary. The scheme, which would be expanded later, is aimed at improving the living conditions of women, primarily in villages,” he said.
Pointing out to a number of health benefits of goat milk, Manju also promised to bring about an organised system on the lines of Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) to popularise production and supply of goat’s milk in the state. “There are no cases of suicides among those who are into the business of milk (dairy) and silk (sericulture). But, farming has become a loss-making business now,” he mentioned.
On Friday, Manju launched a new brand of goat milk supplied by Yashodavana Goat Farm, based in Mysuru. Srinivas Acharya, who manages the farm said: “We have been supplying 200 litres of goat milk every day. Each litre of pasteurised goat milk costs Rs 250, which is sold under the name ‘MyGoat’. There is good demand and we are planning to increase the supply to up to 500 litres daily,” he said. “We cultivated fodder through organic farming on 45 acres and the remaining space is used as shelter for 2,000 goats,” he added.