Hon’ble Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying launches NDDB’s ERP software; Chairman, NDDB hands over cheque of Rs.16.32 crore to KOF as working capital loan & custom packing of Dhara sunflower edible oil begins at KOF

Hon’ble Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying launches NDDB’s ERP software; Chairman, NDDB hands over cheque of Rs.16.32 crore to KOF as working capital loan & custom packing of Dhara sunflower edible oil begins at KOF

April 5, 2022, New Delhi: Shri Parshottam Rupala, Hon’ble Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying launched NDDB’s Enterprise Resource Planning Software (ERP) on 4th April 2022 at NDDB, New Delhi. In his presence, Shri Meenesh Shah, Chairman, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) handed over a cheque of Rs.16.32 crore to KOF as a short-term working capital loan at a concessional interest rate of 6.25 % per year for sourcing oilseeds and edible oil at reasonable prices during the harvest season. Shri Rupala also launched custom packing of Dhara sunflower edible oil at Karnataka Cooperative Oilseeds Growers’ Federation Ltd (KOF), Bengaluru. Shri Annasaheb Shankar Jolle, MP (Lok Sabha) & Chairman, KOF and Shri Iranna Kadadi, MP (Rajya Sabha) graced the occasion.

Shri Rupala informed that India continues to depend on imports to meet edible oil demand. He sought NDDB’s intervention in reducing country’s reliance on imported edible oil and applauded Board’s efforts to address oilseed production issue in a systematic manner. The Hon’ble Union Minister said that the compulsion to rapidly increase domestic oil production is an opportunity to improve livelihoods of small and marginal farmers.

He further said that cooperatives are seen as a solution to all problems. Shri Rupala highlighted the need to bring awareness about purity of edible oils. He also preferred a healthy cooperative system for edible oils so that groundnut farmers can also earn profits similar to milk producers. 

While making a presentation on status of edible oil, Chairman, NDDB said that to boost oilseed cultivation, leveraging its experience in the sector, NDDB can provide support for quality seed production on the lines of fodder seed production, working capital & long term loans along with turnkey execution of oil processing and packaging plants. To strengthen oilseed cooperatives, interest subvention schemes similar to dairy cooperatives and price incentive for procurement need to be extended to oilseeds by the Govt.

Shri Jolle conveyed that in the 80s, NDDB was instrumental in setting up edible oil cooperatives across the country under Operation Golden Flow. NDDB is re-engaging itself and has already initiated a number of measures to support KOF. The Board has suitably modified NDDB’s ERP software for the use of oilseeds cooperatives. NDDB’s wholly owned subsidiary Mother Dairy Fruit and Vegetable Pvt Ltd (MDFVPL) has now contracted with KOF for packing and supply of ‘Dhara’ brand sunflower oil. He thanked NDDB for sanctioning a short-term working capital loan at a concessional interest rate.