The Milk Processing Units in Pema Gatshel’s Nanong Gewog have been benefiting dairy farmers, but delivering milk to the unit used to be a challenge. Some members had to walk for hours to deliver their milk. However, with the arrival of milk collection vans this year, supplying milk has become all the easier.
A van honks as an employee from the Milk Processing Unit, MPU arrives in Nanong village every two days to collect milk from farmers.
Unlike before, farmers now only need to walk to the road to deliver their milk. On average, each farmer brings around 10 litres per collection. In the past, some farmers had to walk for over two hours to reach the MPU.
“When we produce nine to 10 litres of milk, it is profitable to take it to the unit by the end of the month. However, when production drops, transporting smaller amounts is a challenge,” said Chorten Zangmo, a farmer.
Nanong-Pangthang Tshogpa Tashi Tobgay said, “Those who previously produced only one to two litres of milk often considered it a waste of time to transport them. Most of the time, the milk was kept at home. But now, with the milk collection van, I have noticed a clear increase in the amount of milk being collected.”
Terdha Puensum Gonor Detshen’s Chairperson Sonam Chogyal said, “The milk collection van has made things much easier for us as well. We can now collect milk and market dairy products easily.”
The three vans now serve the Tsatsi-Dagor, Nanong-Raling, and Woongchiloo dairy groups.
Collectively, the units gather over 500 litres of milk daily.
Local leaders say they purchased the vans to help farmers benefit from the MPU and maintain their membership.
Without reliable transportation, the gewog administration feared losing members and letting the infrastructure fall into disrepair.
Nanong Gup Sonam Jamtsho said, “I sought donations from friends and raised funds with the committee, livestock officials, and the three tshogpas. With this support, we managed to procure the vans for the dairy groups.”
Farmers now aspire to supply more milk to the units and generate more income than before.
” We are also considering buying two to three jersey cows. We hope every member will eventually have a few jersey cows,” said Jamtsho, a farmer.
The initiative has not only solved transportation challenges but has also boosted income generation, encouraging more farmers to join and benefit from the unit.
Thinley Dorji, Pema Gatshel
Edited by Sangay Chezom
