275 ROLE OF SIKKIM CO-OPERATIVE MILK PRODUCERS' UNION LTD. (SCMPUL) IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT OF SIKKIM Mr. Bhuwan Chhetri 1 ABSTRACT Dairying is considered as the important source of income whose agriculture depends on monsoon. Indian dairying is recognized as one of the important instrument for social & economic development. The nation s milk supply comes from millions of small producers, dispersed throughout rural areas. The major challenge for the dairy sector in India is to raise milk production to meet the increasing demand that arises from expansion of population & presumably growth of income. SCMPUL has plays an important role for the socio economic development of the people of Sikkim, it bring together the aims of increasing milk supply, enhancing incomes of poor rural households and promoting economic development of rural people. Sikkim Milk Producer Union Ltd. is an apex body of the primary milk producers cooperative societies formed at the village level on Anand Model Milk Cooperatives. It plays a significant role in Sikkim economy which have created a great number of salaried jobs and self-employment opportunities in Sikkim State. This paper aims at studying and revealing the role of Sikkim Milk Co-operative Producer s Union Ltd in rural development of Sikkim. The study is based on secondary and primary data. Keywords: Anand model, Dairy co-operatives, rural development, SCMPUL. INTRODUCTION Dairying has been a part and parcel of Indian culture and civilization from ancient times and remains so even today. The history of co-operative movement in India can be traced back to the introduction of Co-operative Societies Act, 1904. In India dairy co-operatives were formed after 1912 but the real beginning was made only after the Second World War. The Kaira District Co-operative Milk Union which is popularly known as AMUL was the first producer oriented union organized in 1946. It is well known that India is the world s largest 1 Assistant Professor,Department of Commerce,Sikkim Govt. College,Tadong, Gangtok - 737102
276 milk producer and in 2006-2007, it celebrated reaching to the magical figure of 100 million tonnes. The growth of the milk production has been consistently high since 1970 For example, since the inception of the Operation Flood program (1971-1996) by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) Anand, the average annual growth rate of milk production has been over 5 percent during the period. The National Dairy Development Board was set up to make the ambitious project a success. Besides this, the Operation Flood Project was launched in 1970, which introduced co-operatives into the dairy sector with the objectives of increasing milk production, augmenting rural income, and providing fair prices for the consumer. Sikkim Co-operative Milk Producer Union Ltd. is an apex body of the primary milk producers co-operative societies formed at the village level on Anand Model Milk Cooperatives. Co-operative societies have a comparative job creation advantages over other types of enterprises, they are labour intensive by nature, and they are cost effective because of member commitment and participation. Co-operative Dairying is one of the most effective instruments of supplementing farmer s income and generating employment in the rural sector. The dairy sub-sector occupies an important place in the agricultural economy of India as milk is the second largest agricultural commodity in contributing to GNP, next only to rice. Cooperatives assure the farmer of not only a market for their product but also take care of logistical issues like transportation and containers. Co-operatives allow for stable selling rate which does not change even when the yield is surplus. Payments are guaranteed to milk producers and ensured within a prescribed time. Co-operatives play an important role by eliminating middlemen and the associated costs. The dairy development through cooperatives has not only brought a glut of milk in Sikkim but has generated subsidiary sources to income to the small and marginal farmers and landless labourers who constitute about 2/3 of the membership of dairy co-operatives. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Shiyani (1996) found that the milk production by the households associated with dairy cooperative societies was significantly higher than milk production of others in the villages. The study also found that members of dairy co-operatives allocated the inputs better than independent producers. Shah, D. (2000) found that about 75 percent of marketed surplus of small producer s production in dairy sector was concerned by the middlemen. Their predominance is mainly
277 because of the absence of co-operative infrastructure. Generally, middleman procured milk at a low price round the year and sell it at a high price. Karmakar K.G. and Banerjee G.D. (2006) opined that demand for milk is expected to grow steadily over the next two decades as the low income rural and urban families who have higher expenditure elasticity would also increase their income due to the new economic environment. Bandyopadhyay Manob Kanti (1996) found that the majority of people of India living in villages are involved in agriculture. Rearing of cattle animal is also an important source for income of the people of village. From our ancient history, the domestication of the cow and the buffalo dates back to nearly 4000 years. Scriptures of India refer to the wealth through the world Godhan. Maximum properties of cows and buffaloes of the world are seen in India. This amount is too inadequate to meet the country s demand. The supply of milk in some parts of India is higher and in some parts much lower than demand. Harold A. (1987) in his paper Cooperative Dairy Development in Karanataka, India assessed the impact of Karnataka Dairy development project on dairy development in Karnataka. The Primary data was collected through survey of 21 villages with cooperatives And 10 villages with non cooperative dairy units. The author found a positive impact of the project on milk production, as the average production in villages with milk cooperatives was twice the production in villages without cooperatives. Michael Khoveio LL, Jain DK, Chauhan AK (2012) in their paper Economics of Milk Production and its Constraints in Nagaland revealed that low availability and the high price of concentrate and lack of green fodder availability were the major production of milk constraints. The low price of liquid milk was the major constraint faced by cooperative members and the delay in payments was the major constraint for non-cooperative members. EVOLUTION OF DAIRY FARMING IN SIKKIM On the merger of Sikkim with the Indian dominion in 1975, the Governor of Sikkim Shri B.B.Lal initiated the idea of forming a co-operative Milk Union in Sikkim, probably being encouraged by the success that had been achieved in the States of Gujrat. Therefore, the matter was taken up with Dr.V.Kurien, the then Chairman of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) who also paid a visit to Sikkim in 1977 as a guest of the State. After the discussion with the Sikkim Government, Dr.Kurien agreed to implement Anand Pattern Co-operative Societies in Sikkim state. As a result, after 1978 the Spear Head Team of NDDB
278 started working in three districts of Sikkim viz East, West and South. before this, Sikkim Livestock Development Corporation (SLDC) took care the dairying business since its existence in 1977. In the year 1979-80, Govt. of India launched Operation Flood-I (OF-I) programme through National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to promote milk marketing and dairy activities on Anand Co-operative Model. This scheme was extended to Sikkim under OF-II in 1982, which gave birth to primary milk producers co-operatives and their federal body - the Sikkim Co-operative Milk Producers Union Ltd. The Sikkim Co-operative Milk Producers Union Ltd. was formed in the year 1980 and registered under the Sikkim State Co-operative Societies Act, 1978. It is an apex body of the primary milk producers cooperative societies formed at the village level on Anand Model Milk Co-operatives. Its area of operation extends the whole of Sikkim except North District. Two Milk processing plants one each at Tadong, Gangtok and other at Karfectar, Jorethang having processing capacities of 10,000 and 5,000 litres per day. The major objectives of the Union is to provide a ready market and remunerative price for poor and marginal milk producers in the far flung remote villages of the State and make hygienic milk available to the urban consumer at reasonable rates and in the process stabilize civilian consumer milk price. ORGANISATIONAL PHILOSOPHY OF SIKKIM CO-OPERATIVE MILK PRODUCERS UNION LTD. The primary aim of the SCMPUL is to provide remunerative market for milk products in the remote villages and to make hygienic milk and milk products available to the urban consumers at reasonable rates thereby achieving the following objectives: Provide year-round assured market for the milk of the farmers unlike other agriculture produce. Provide rural employment both as dairy farmers and as employees of MPCS as Secretary/Tester/Helper. Stabilize price of milk by connecting areas of surplus milk to the milk-deficient towns and cities. Enhance milk yield of the farmers by improving the genetic potential of the milch cattle through artificial insemination and by providing pedigree bulls for natural service. Uplift the socio-economic condition of the rural poor by increasing their income through the sale of their milk.
279 Enhance milk production of milch animals by providing technical inputs such as balanced milch ration, fodder seeds, fodder saplings thus helping to increase the income of the farmers. FUNCTIONS/ACTIVITIES OF SIKKIM CO-OPERATIVE MILK PRODUCERS UNION LTD. Organising of milk co-operative societies Arrange transportation of milk from the societies. Training of managing committee members Training of secretaries/testers Training of farmers in dairy animal management Arrange exposure trips of farmers to outside the state under farmers induction programme Altogether, there are 319 registered and un-registered primary Milk Producers Cooperative Societies federated to the union. The union collects around 50 lakhs litres milk in a year from the member societies. The good quality milk i.e. 3.5% fat and 8.5% SNF will gives up to Rs.30 per litre to the producer farmers by the union. In addition to the above prices for the milk, the societies get the following benefits from the union. Provision of bulk coolers and Deep Freezers under various projects sources for keeping their safe. Emerging veterinary care as far as possible. Training and capacity building free of cost to the farmer s and society functionaries The societies received bonus in the last four years @ 50% of the average monthly milk supplied. Supply of milk ration (cattle feed) at the cost price as the transportation cost borne by the milk union. Provision for supply of aluminium can at the subsidized cost. Provision of the mineral mixture, de-warming and medicines according to the availability of various projects free of cost. Provides subsidy loan from the NABARD with the help of SISCO Bank ltd. to the beneficiaries for the purchase of cow and other viable projects. Table 1, Past 10 Years Production details of SCMPUL
280 Year Producer members Average milk produced in kg per society Average milk produced in kg per member 2001-02 5788 182.36 5.45 2002-03 6537 209.79 5.55 2003-04 6537 196.96 5.21 2004-05 6561 243.81 6.95 2005-06 7176 219.52 6.94 2006-07 7497 195.10 5.75 2007-08 8193 241.33 7.07 2008-09 8768 240.48 6.37 2009-10 9562 231.02 6.98 2010-11 5985 138.09 6.71 2011-12 9758 213.43 6.63 Source: Sikkim Co-operative Milk Producer Union Ltd., Annual report (2001-02 to 2011-12) Above table 1, exhibit the review of 10 years production details of Sikkim Co-operative Milk Producers Union Ltd. Which shows producer member were 5788 members in 2001-2002 and reach 6537 members during 2002-03 and remain constant in 2003-04 after that its member increase continuously till 2009-10 which became 9562 members but in 2010-11 its member decreased largely and reach 5985 members and in 2011-12 again increase and reach upto 9758 members. Average milk produced in kg per society was improved from 182.36 during 2001-02 to 213.43 kg during 2011-12 and average milk produced in kg per member also slightly improved from 5.45 kg per member in 2001-02 to 6.63 kg per member in 2011-12. Table 2, Past 13 Years milk processing and product details of SCMPUL Year Liquid Milk in 000 kgs Butter Paneer Chhurpi Curd Cream 2001-02 3183 10320 5104 5166 412 921 2002-03 3234 6357 3323 6315 6529 9113 2003-04 3184 9021 7568 3717 33865 14355 2004-05 2561 8082 4196 1009 13989 11243 2005-06 3068 17179 8686 5000 938 616
281 2006-07 3610 22513 13310 4564 52167 27680 2007-08 3469 14011 18065 3191 30010 16630 2008-09 4243 10369 12579 5131 54420 4299 2009-10 5074 8277 25145 4008 59567 8639 2010-11 6361 13831 11635 4847 76320 14180 2011-12 7934 20655 47059 6222 121407 25562 2012-13 9134 11154 23505 7269 199399 13303 2013-14 9738 13217 34875 8767 232116 12434 2014-15 10850 19144 77244 12441 371116 15445 Source: Sikkim Co-operative Milk Producer Union Ltd. Annual report (2001-02 to 2014-15) The above table 2, exhibit the review of 13 Years milk processing and product details of Sikkim Co-operative Milk Producers' Union Ltd. which shows 3183000 kg milk production during 2001-02 and reach 10850000 kg during 2014-15 similarly production of butter also increase in last 13 yrs which became almost double and reach 20655 kg during 2011-12 from 10320 kg in 2002-03 and reached 19144 kg during 2014-15 and production of paneer shows vast improvement in last 13 yrs which increase almost 9 times and reach 47059 kg in 2011-12 from 5104 kg in 2001-02 and production of chhurpi rise from 5166 kg in 2001-02 to 12441 kg in 2014-15, production of curd shows drastically changes in which during 2001-02, it was only 412 kg and reach 371116 kg in during 2014-15 and production of cream was 921 kg in 2001-02 and reaches 25562 kg during 2011-12 and during 2014-15 reduced to 15445 kg. Sl. No. Table 3, Status of Sikkim Co-operative Milk Producers' Union Ltd. 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012-2013- Particulars Units -08-09 -10-11 -12 13 14 2014-15 1. 2. 3. 4. Institutional Membership Number of Branches Total Share Capital General Reserves No. 240 273 289 291 303 308 313 319 " 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rs. in lakh 3.54 7.64 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.03 " 57.41 60.21 64.68 134.6 4 147.4 8 108.6 0 184.0 0 281.00 5. Working Capital " 749.6 916.2 819.4 753.3 516.0 42.10-560.3
282 1 1 5 7 8 Business 666.0 963.0 1280. 1721. 2384. 3055. 3733. 4417.2 6. " Turnover 0 0 00 00 38 57 00 3 41.88 7.23 11.38 40.02 12.93 19.66 22.79 29.11 7. Profit/Loss " (NP) (NP) (NP) (NP) (NP) (NP) (NP) (NP) Source: Sikkim Co-operative Milk Producer Union Ltd. Annual report (2007-08 to 2014-15) The above table 3, shows the status of milk producer union ltd., which shows institutional member has increase steadily from 240 members during 2007-08 and reached 319 members in 2014-15 and number of branches remain same over the whole period, share capital increased from 3.54 lakh during 2007-08 to 12 lakh during 2009-10 after that it remain constant upto 2011-12 and reached 12.03 lakh during 2014-15. General reserves shows steady increased from 57.41 lakh during 2007-08 to 147.48 lakh in 2011-12 and than decreased and reached 281 lakh during 2014-15. Working capital shows increased from 749.61 lakh during 2007-08 to 916.21 lakh in 2008-09 after that it steadily decreased throughout the period and reach 560.3 lakh during 2014-15 and the profit and loss shows profit in all the years but there was frequent fluctuations in the profitability during the period. BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT OF SIKKIM CO-OPERATIVE MILK PRODUCERS UNION LTD. Sikkim has been a major milk producing state in the North eastern region of the country. The growth in the sector has been brought about not by enhanced milk productivity but by the formalization of milk marketing channels through co-operatives. Unlike most heavy milk producing states, milk in Sikkim is primarily sourced from cows. The current average milk yield per cow in the state is 6.5 litre per day. There is thus scope of productivity enhancement in milk in the state. The agro climatic conditions of West and South districts of Sikkim (project area of NERLP) are suitable for dairy farming. The dairy practiced in Sikkim is primarily of cow milk since the climatic conditions of the state do not encourage keeping buffalos. The basic skill for dairy farming is available with the poor community since most households keep animals. Dairy is a part of the Livelihoods basket of almost all rural households of Sikkim. There is a strong enabling environment in the state for Dairy farming with the Department of Animal Husbandry Livestock Fisheries and Veterinary Services (AHVS) of providing regular trainings, required extension services and inputs. Research agencies like the ICAR and
283 KVK s are also conducting research to enhance productivity in Dairy farming. The importance of the dairy subsector in Sikkim is also accounted by the fact that Sikkim has been following organic practices in agriculture which has banned the use of chemical fertilizers and cow dung is the single most bio-fertilizer that is being used. There are functional milk collection centers in all of the surveyed villages which are operated by Sikkim milk Producers Union Ltd.. The Milk Union offers a minimum price of Rs. 30 per litre at the village level for standard milk with 3.5% fat and 7.5% solid non fat (SNF). This minimum rate is one of the highest in the country for cow milk. Sikkim Milk has a wide network of retailers and milk parlours all across Sikkim for marketing milk and milk products. Unlike other tribal areas, Milk is a part of the daily diet of Sikkimese people. There are various value added milk products like curd, paneer, churpi, butter, ghee etc. which are in high demand in urban all across Sikkim. The tourism sector in Sikkim is pretty evolved with a large number of hotels and restaurants all across the state. This sector is also one of the highest absorber of milk and milk products. A majority of dairy farmers in each village are members of the milk producer s cooperative society at the GPU level. These collection centre s are equipped with electronic lactometers and necessary type of equipments for accurate measurement of fat and SNF in milk. There are generally 2 staff of the respective co-operatives for each collection centre who are trained in testing milk. Payment registers are maintained by the staff according to an index chart which determines due payments as per fat and SNF content. Payments to members are done weekly. The collection of milk occurs twice a day and the collected milk is transported by milk vans to nearest milk chilling units to be transported to the milk processing plant at Karfector near Jorethang. There are also around 40 deep freezers provided by Sikkim Milk to various co-operative societies. While the centre at Karfector caters to South and West districts, East and North districts are catered by a bigger unit at Tadong in Gangtok. Sikkim Milk has an association with West Bengal Dairy and Poultry Development Corporation for bulk procurement of Himul dana. Sikkim Milk has the following products under its belt: High Cream Milk Butter Paneer Curd
284 Lassi Chhurpi Pasteurized Fresh Cow Milk Toned Milk (3% fat and 8.5% SNF) Sikkim Co-operative Milk Producers Union Ltd. is functioning efficiently & is all set to post healthy profits with a significant rise in the annual turnover of the organization as continued from past few years. For the current financial year 2015-16 the annual turnover has crossed the milestone of 50 crore rupees. With the passage of time the Sikkim milk cooperative milk union increase in the procurement of milk from more than 300 milk collection societies located in the east, south & west district of Sikkim. With this, the marketing/sales of milk & all milk products has also shown higher increase than previous years & a healthy position is being maintained between the total procurement & the marketing. As compared to the annual procurement of 59.84 lakh kgs of milk in 2014-15 the procurement figures for 2015-16 crossed the level of 80 lakh kgs showing an increase of more than 25% during 2015-16. New rounds of training has been proposed & finalized for farmers wherein 30 batches has been sent for training at NDDB regional centre, Matigara, Siliguri. It has also come up with a unique brand name for the milk & milk products of the Union on lines of other successful dairy federation of the country which will help in future to attain a unique identity & status in domestic as well as international markets especially in light of the State Organic Mission of the state. For the better identification & consumer awareness recently uniform & standard sale outlet boards have been made & distributed to all the selling agents of the societies milk & milk products which will lead to easy identification of selling points by the general public. A lot of steps have been taken by the societies to cut down on costs in the plant. Efforts are being made to move towards the goal of certification of organic milk in near future & its effective branding as per direction of Hon ble Chief Minister of Sikkim and to explore & open new marketing opportunities for milk products in the open markets outside the State & in various other organisations under the guidance of National Cooperative Federation of India. ROLE OF SIKKIM CO-OPERATIVE MILK PRODUCERS' UNION LTD. IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT OF SIKKIM Employment generation and market creation for the agricultural product has been one of
285 the important objectives of the rural development in India. The problem of employment is closely interlinked with the eradication of poverty. The actual process of employment generation remains largely unperceived except in the organized sectors of the economy. Rapid evolution of global society has opened the vast opportunities to expand and raise the quality of employment opportunities while presenting challenges to existing social structure. The analyses of data collected relating to impact of co-operative milk producers' union ltd. in rural development of Sikkim are as follows. The Five-point Likert Scale questionnaire were provided and collected from 20 employees/officials and 80 beneficiaries of SCMPUL to measure the role of SCMPUL in rural development and the questionnaire were multiple choice questions, where 1 indicate strongly disagree, 2 indicate disagree, mean score of 3 indicate Neutral where one is not able to decide, 4 indicate agree and 5 indicate strongly agree. The detail analysis and interpretation of questionnaire are as follows: Table 4, Role of SCMPUL in Rural Development of Sikkim Sl. Officials/ Beneficiaries No Employees Questions N = 20 N= 80 t-value p-value Mean S.D Mean S.D 1. SCMPUL plays a crucial role in the improvement of per capita income of the rural people of Sikkim 4.11.946 3.96.999 1.4600.1449 2. SCMPUL helps in obtaining latest and modern practices in a dairy farming pattern which increases the earning of the rural people. 4.14.771 4.04 987 1.0202.3081 3. SCMPUL increases the quality of human capital through education and 4.16.875 4.01.814 1.7397.0825 training which leads to self employment and
286 employment in other sector 4. SCMPUL share common economic needs which gave opportunity to the rural people to earn their livelihood 5. SCMPUL have great contribution in creating employment and increasing income of the rural people 6. SCMPUL are instrument for helping the poor or persons belonging to vulnerable groups who have no economic potentials and own resources to pool 7. SCMPUL make value addition to the milk and milk products that improves the quality and life of the product which results in repetition of sales 8. SCMPUL aim at the well being of the community or society and individuals which motivate people to work enthusiastically 9. SCMPUL provide an employment opportunity for all irrespective of caste, religion or political affiliations. 4.00 1.063 3.85 1.075 1.3440.1795 4.05.800 3.90 1.058 1.4345.1520 4.15.874 4.03.813 1.3934.1641 4.14.867 4.04.807 1.1700.2425 4.13.770 4.03.998 1.0108.3126 4.12 1.030 4.04.985.7721.4404
287 10. SCMPUL helps in identification and optimum utilization of available resources which increases employment 4.11.864 4.01.804 1.1743.2408 Overall Response 4.11.901 4.00.967 1.1098.2676 Source: Field Survey (computed) In comparative analysis it was revealed that in the area SCMPUL plays a crucial role in the improvement of per capita income of the rural people of Sikkim the mean score of officials/employees was 4.11 and in case of beneficiaries it was 3.96 and difference in the row was found not statistically significant as evidence from t-value 1.4600 and p-value 0.1449. The position was similar in other nine variables also as shown in the above table. Overall mean and S.D. & t-value have been worked out for co-operative officials/employees and beneficiaries. Overall mean was 4.11 in case of officials/employees and 4.00 in case of beneficiaries and the difference was found not statistically significant as evident from t-value 1.1098 and p-value 0.2676. Overall Standard deviation of officials/employees was.901 and in case of beneficiaries, it was.967, which shows that range scores were more in case of beneficiaries and less in case of officials/employees. In nutshell, it is confirmed from the above discussion that more or less beneficiaries also agree with the viewpoint of the employees or officials in the area Positive role of Sikkim co-operative milk producers' union ltd. in rural development of Sikkim. CONCLUSION The Sikkim co-operative milk producers union ltd. has accomplished a lot over the years, with increasing milk production and bringing more rural areas under its collection. The milk co-operative in Sikkim have played an important role in the expansion of milk availability in the State. The cooperative network connects various milk producers of Sikkim to the markets. The study found that there has been a very positive role of SCMPUL in the rural development of Sikkim. The union have been playing a crucial role in the economic development of people of Sikkim by creating market, employment and generating income for the poor people. Dairy cooperatives have been getting various opportunities as well as facing different challenges in Sikkim. The dairy co-operative movement has not only improved the lives of the people of Sikkim but also made a significant contribution to the economy of the
288 State.
289 References Apte, D. P.(1988) The role of Co-operative Dairy Schemes in the Rural Development of India. Who Shares: Cooperatives and Rural Development. Delhi: Oxford University Press Gautam Kakaty and Moromi Gogoi (2001), Employment and income opportunity in Dairy enterprises of Assam - A Case Study, Agricultural situation in India, Vol. 66, No. 2, May,P.69. Banerjee G.D and Karmakar K.G. (2006), Opportunities and Challenges in The Indian Dairy Industry, Technological Change, Issue 9, Pp.24-26. Mandeep Singh and Joshi. A.S. (2008), Economic Analysis of Crop Production and Dairy Farming on Marginal and Small Farms in Punjab Agricultural Economics Research Review, Vol. 21, Issue: 2, P-30. Bandyopadhyay Manob Kanti (1996), Dairy Co-operation and Rural Development Finance India, Vol. 10, No. 2, June, Pp. 406-411. Michael Khoveio L.L, Jain DK, Chauhan AK(2012). Economics of Milk Production and its Constraints in Nagaland, Indian J. Dairy Sci. Shah, D. (2000), An Enquiry into Producer Members Perception towards Working of Milk cooperatives in Maharashtra, Indian Dairyman, Vol. 32, No. 6, Pp. 31-41. Shiyani, R.L.,(1996), An economic analysis of technical efficiency in milk production Indian journal of dairy science 49 (9), 572-578 Yonzan, H., and Tamang, J. P.,(1998) Consumption pattern of traditional foods in the Sikkim Himalaya in Journal of Hill Research, Sikkim Science Society, II(I)