Milk availability increasing in Sudurpaschim province

Sudurpaschim, Jan 11: Per capita annual availability of milk has reached to 120-130 litres in Sudurpaschim Province.

Milk availability has increased with the commercialization in milk production. The availability was very less till one and-half-decade.

Secretary at the Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperative Ministry, Shankar Shah said, "Earlier, milk was produced for only household purpose. But in recent years, the availability of milk has increased due to its commercial production."

Around 60,000-70,000 farmers have engaged in milk production in Sudurpaschim Province and 10,000-12,000 people have directly got employment from this business, he added.

According to the Ministry, one million cows and 500,000 buffaloes are being reared in nine districts of the province as well as 355,000 metric tonnes of milk is being produced annually.

Although, there should be availability of 92 litres of milk per person annually in Nepal, the average availability of milk is 90 litres.

Sudurpaschim province is in front in milk consumption and most of the families have a trend of making ghee, yogurt and other items, mentioned Shah.

He expressed the belief that it will help in economic transformation of the province if the dairy-products could be promoted linking with local taste and culture.