Amul’s expertise is being sought to make the country self-sufficient in milk and milk products

Dairy: Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, during his official visit to Gujarat, sought Amul Dairy’s expertise to source 2,000 cows from India.

Minister of economic affairs, Norbu Wangchuk, confirmed this, saying, Bhutan needs more cows, since the agriculture ministry is making efforts to make Bhutan self sufficient in milk and milk products.

“If we look at the import figures, milk and milk products are two of the most imported food items, which puts a drain on the economy,” he said. “Government puts in a lot of effort to reduce food imports, out of which milk and milk products are our primary focus.”

Lyonpo said the government has asked Amul to see how they could assist with the supply of the cows.

“Immediately, a team from the department of livestock will come to India and examine the quality of cows to take to Bhutan,” he said. “With this, farmers need not look for cows elsewhere.”

Lyonpo said farmers would be getting these cows under the Business Opportunity Information Center (BoIC) or the agriculture program.

Lyonpo said there was an overwhelming response from the rural pockets for taking up cottage dairy farming under BoIC, a channel through which government supports small enterprises to take up agriculture activities.

“The challenge for these farmers is to get good quality cows,” he said. “We want to connect them to the experience of Amul and also latch onto the resources that Amul has.”

By Tshering Wangdi, Varanasi