Farmers’ arrears reduced by more than half after PM Modi’s campaign

Kathmandu. After Prime Minister Balendra Shah (Balen) promoted the products of the Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) through social media, the financial condition of the DDC has started improving. In the last three months, DDC has reduced the amount owed to farmers from Rs 72 crore to around Rs 35 crore.

After a long time of cash crunch, mounting stocks and delays in payment to farmers, DDC has started to achieve positive results through internal reforms, cost control and aggressive marketing.

On May 2, Prime Minister Shah had promoted DDC products through social networking site Facebook and urged them to use domestic products. Since then, consumer interest in DDC’s products has increased and sales have improved significantly, according to officials of the institute. Minister for Agriculture, Forest and Environment Gita Chaudhary also supported the PM’s campaign.

According to DDC, the corporation has been able to dispatch around 600 metric tonnes of powder milk and 450 metric tonnes of butter to the market. According to the corporation, cash flow has improved with the decrease in stock, which has had a direct impact on farmers’ payments.

A few months ago, the daily sales revenue was around Rs 60 lakh, now it is around Rs 90 lakh. The DDC said the surplus proceeds from the sale were aimed at paying the farmers.

The waiting period for payment of farmers, which was up to seven months in the past, has now come down to two to three months. The institute has now set a target to limit it to a month.

The corporation has given priority to the payment of farmers and has cut down non-essential expenses and has also expedited the recovery of dues. It is said the financial pressure has started to ease as the collection of pending amount has been increased for a long time.

KATHMANDU: Eight dedicated sales counters have been set up in Kathmandu Valley in collaboration with the private sector. According to the corporation, these outlets have helped to make DDC’s products accessible to consumers and increase sales. DDC said it is working on a plan to sustain the current reforms and expand the market for the produce, manage stocks and ensure timely payments to farmers.