Patna: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday visited the Patna Dairy Project in Phulwarisharif and called for a major expansion of Bihar’s dairy sector. He inspected the production hall, the ice-cream plant and the yoghurt cold storage unit, seeking clear details on how Sudha’s products are processed and how production can be further improved. He also issued several directions to officials to strengthen the system.
During a review meeting, COMFED Managing Director Shirsat Kapil Ashok briefed him on the current state of Bihar’s dairy network. He explained that more than 21,000 village-level milk cooperative societies are active across the state, supporting around 7.5 lakh livestock farmers, including nearly 1.9 lakh women. These societies collect an average of 2.2 million kilograms of milk every day, and COMFED’s existing plants can process up to 5.4 million litres of milk daily. He added that COMFED is planning to enhance its processing capacity even further.
Nitish Kumar said the Agriculture Road Map launched in 2008 has helped Bihar increase crop yields and milk production. He directed officials to expand dairy plants, strengthen procurement systems and add more farmers to milk production committees so that incomes increase and more jobs are created. He also asked departments to improve processing capacity, expand infrastructure and provide housing facilities for dairy workers so they can work more efficiently.
The Chief Minister said the government has taken many steps to support farmers and livestock rearers. He praised COMFED for giving better prices to farmers and expanding the reach of Sudha products. Today, Sudha’s milk and dairy items are sold across Bihar, Jharkhand, the Northeast, Delhi and Kolkata, and even exported to countries like the US and Canada. COMFED, established in 1983 under Operation Flood, now markets 18 lakh litres of milk daily through more than 37,000 outlets and produces a wide range of dairy products such as ghee, paneer, yoghurt, butter, rasgulla, ice cream and milk powder.
Several senior officials, including Additional Chief Secretary Dr N. Vijayalakshmi, COMFED MD Shirsat Kapil Ashok, Patna District Magistrate Dr Thiyagarajan S.M. and other officers, were present during the inspection.
