Milk Export
Problems & Potentialities

By Tek Bahadur Thapa

MILK is one of the important component of farm produce which generates cash income on a twice-a day basis. No other farm produce generates income in such a manner. Thus, milk stands on a higher footing than other cash generating farm products. In general, Nepalese farmers have been receiving remunerative prices for milk. Unlike other agricultural commodities, milk prices has never fluctuated but is on a steady increasing trend. In the Nepalese society, milk is treated as a specially in the milkshed areas of Dairy Development Corporation and other private sector dairies.

Production

In the past, Nepal imported sizable amount of dried milk and butter oil to meet the liquid milk demand of urban areas specially Kathmandu valley. Realizing this problem, government came up with the number of interventions to enhance milk production to self-sufficiency through a number of livestock development project and programmes, milk processing and marketing facilities. These efforts and interventions led to the present level of milk production, and we are looking for a export market for milk.

At present, livestock contributes 31 per cent to the total agricultural GDP of the country. Milk is by far the most important livestock commodity (nearly half of livestock GDP), with meat next, much of which is a by-product of the milk subsector (APP 1995). Average per capita annual milk consumption amounts to about 45 liters. Annual milk production is about 1,028,000 tons which is above 6 per cent of GDP at current market price.

Dairy development has multiplier effect in the growth of other sectors too. Thus the growth of dairy sector has a vital bearing on the overall development of the country. Around 100,000 dairy farmers households produce and sell milk to the organised sector, and about ten thousand people are engaged in milk processing industry including rural enterprises, ancillary workers, porters, vendors, boothmen, etc.

Presently, the major problems faced by the dairy sector are: inadequate milk handling and conservation facility and lack of trained manpower to manage the dairy industry efficiently. Also no dairy training facility exist in the country to produce the manpower needed for the growing dairy industry.

The twenty-year Agricultural Perspective Plan (APP) envisaged the present annual growth rate of 2 per cent should rise to 10.4 per cent during 1994/95 to 1999/2000 period, followed by 6.1 per cent during 1999/2000 to 2004/05, during 2004/05 to 2009/10 and, finally 5.5 per cent during 2014/15 period. Thus, milk production is expected to jump four times from 0.871 million MT (1995/96) to 3.35 million MT (2014/15) in a span of twenty-years (APP). At this current level of production (1998), DDC is observing Milk Holidays (MH) in its milkshed areas for the last seven consecutive years during the flush production period, mostly due to arrest in expansion of its handling and processing facility. It has negative effect on the growth rate of milk production, which would adversely affect the achievement of APP set target. During 1998/99, DDC could not collect around 6 million litres of fresh milk (maximum 50,000 litres per day during peak flush period) from its milkshed areas.

The milk processing facilities are gradually growing in the country, however, existing processing capacities are not enough to process the total milk available. The organised sector handles only 90,500 MT of milk annually which represents only 9 per cent of the total production (1997/98), out of which DDC handles 65 per cent of milk. Annual milk handling is around 65,000 MT. Thus, Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) has maintained a dominant position in the formal sector milk processing. It operates its activities through its four market milk plants, one skimmed milk power plant, 6 yak cheese production units and four cow milk cheese production units scattered in 39 districts.

However, many more entrepreneurs are exploring the possibility of establishing additional dairy plants to produce high value dairy products like cheese, processed cheese, condensed and dried milk products and so on. There are also increasing opportunities for joint venture participation with the Nepalese partners. Each day nearly 225,000 litres of pasteurised milk is marketed in Kathmandu city, out of which the private sector’s share is around 35 per cent.

A high level delegation visited Silgurhi, India to negotiate liquid milk export opportunities with West Bengal. An MOU has been signed to export 2.7 million litres of chilled milk from Fikkal Chilling Centre on an annual basis, and this amounts to 225,000 litres of milk on a monthly basis. As per the agreement, Himul Dairy of Siligurhi and Jalpa Dairy Cooperative are buying chilled milk of minimum 3.2 per cent fat and 8.3 per cent SNF at IC Rs 9.30 or Nepalese Rs 14.88 per litre. After the MOU was signed in August, more than 6,000 litres of chilled milk has already been exported to West Bengal, India. This export agreement has helped to partly ease the Milk Holidays problem.

Possibilities to export milk to Calcutta or convert some of the surplus into skimmed milk powder in the neighbouring dairy plants of India, and bring back the same powder in the country for the dry period use are also being attempted. Higher raw milk price in Nepal has been a major hurdle to the export or milk conservation initiatives.

The first and foremost thing in commodity trading is the price. The seller wants to fetch maximum price for better margin, and the buyers want to buy at a lowest possible price. However, a compromise has to be reached at a point where both do not lose even if they do not gain or save. Raw milk procurement price is much higher in Nepal than in India. This is posing a serious constraints to export milk to India and elsewhere. The buyer is not ready to pay our cost price, thus a solution has to be evolved out to promote the export of liquid milk. Thus, who has to bear the difference in price? Farmers want their price. Dairies also would not like to lose either.

The government would not subsidise the loss or difference in the price. An amicable formula has to be evolved out to resolve this price deadlock situation.

Possibilities

There may be number of possibilities to solve this problem, but two simple ways out are; the farmers prices for exportable amount should be adjusted to the exported price or the prices as agreed by the buyers. Also, government has a policy to promote export, for this reason, government bears some of the cost in the form of export promotion/costs. In the same way, if government can bear the milk transportation cost; say for example from Biratnagar to Calcutta. This may greatly help to export liquid to Calcutta or Dhaka.

Collaborative Work In Development

PEOPLE rarely collaborate. Some organisations might share overall goals but they work individually and are often less likely to achieve success. There are real benefits to collaboration, working together we can achieve great things, so why don’t people collaborate more?

Influence

The media have played a large part in exposing the issue of child labour and highlighting violations of children’s rights. Journalists are inarguably a major influence who can inform and educate both industrialists and children. However, increases in child labour are trends that continue to exist now.

Labour rules and regulations are applied by organisations to one sector of industry and a crowd of children moves forward into another sector. Organisations think that child labour is reduced, but that is not exactly accurate. It is only the location of working children that changes. If the activities of these organisations are wrong, the children will be revealed in their new roles and the problems will be the same. Why? Because of a continued lack of proper child rights research and proper collaboration by the concerned organisations.

Collaboration simply means working in partnership. For example, meeting to discuss specific subject from different perspectives is not collaboration, just a meeting. Bringing organisations with a similar background together to create a new organisation or idea is not collaboration, but federation.

If people or organisations are working together, doing the same work for the same goal then may be this is collaboration, but it is not sufficient. If we agree to collaborate then we must do so equally, sharing our experiences and ideas, we must have balanced participation, alliances and networks, and we must be transparent.

Of course, there are many benefits to collaborative work, the doors are open for learning. Primarily, we share knowledge and experiences with each other so there can be better outputs than when thinking alone. We unite as a team and can build trust among ourselves. We develop an openness about our weaknesses. A supportive group can provide an environment to build upon strengths and fulfill these weaknesses. A process of collaboration utilises resources effectively and efficiently; time, money and effort are not spent unnecessarily. But most importantly collaboration is about mutual gains which directly feed into our personal lives.

Direct collaboration between the Government, NGOs and the private sector emerged for the first time in March, 1999. One example of new model of collaboration is the Child Labour in Nepal project. The Department for International Development (DFID-UK), through its Economic and Social Council for Overseas Research (ESCOR) is funding a research project into child labour in Nepal. The project has brought 10 Participants together to facilitate communication between their organi-sations.

The participants have been able to build capacity within organisations and conduct research into the situation of child workers in the carpet industry, and work towards highlighting the issues of child labour in Nepal and its elimination from the carpet industry.

It seems that an owner may have a new idea for building and is able to find an engineer who understands how to build foundations. An engineer who understands supports and pillars is found and so is another engineer who understands how to work with concrete and cement. All these ideas may be put together and roof built over the creation, but finally standing back, the owner can see that the engineer had very different ideas and the unstructured building is not a building at all.

The participants in a research team, come from organisations that have different ideas and these ideas are put to use by ESCOR for the same goal. If these different ideas are taken in the wrong way, collaborative work becomes unstable like a badly constructed building.

Organisation must be aware of the project and its aims, but it is yet to be seen that they are adequately committed. Even in the understanding of the organisations, there are gaps which could be filled if one takes an initiative and realise how much mutual gain can be taken from this research.

Because organisations have very definite agendas it is difficult for full collaboration to develop. Financial pressures, or internal power structures determine the extent of possible collaboration. Organisational identities and the need for ownership over activities take precedence over an ultimate ability to collaborate constructively. For example, the number of interests at stake, those of communities, commercial organisations, of research projects and government make working together difficult. Yet, if organisations are to truly collaborate then their interests and aims must balance.

After our project is completed collaboration may be possible between the organisations with respect to specific issues. But it is difficult to know what influence the project might have had. The principle way organisations appear able to collaborate is on a specific project, or with reference to a particular type of work.

Identity

Collaboration can take place and has taken place, when there is no risk to an organisation’s position; to its power; to its finances or to its influence. Which is why collaboration has taken place within our research team and it is unlikely to develop while organisations rigidly protect their individual identities.

(This article is jointly prepared by Susil Acharya, Jitendra Jonchhe, Bidur Karki, Milan K.C., Sunita Kharel, Kumar Pandye, Murari Sharma, Shraddha Shrestha & Suresh Shrestha).

In Search Of Health Care

By PNK

Yet, the right thrust can see us through it all if economic prosperity comes about in the same way that the parents thronged to the immunisation centres for giving polio drops to their children.

When talking about diseases, it is not the treatment that only matters. Prevention is as essential as treatment. If preventive aspects were given prominence and adhered to then the treatment costs would considerably come down. Mortality rate too would be down.

When we talk of health posts and centres and even the district level hospitals there are many things amiss. Where do the doctors deputed to the district hospitals make the disappearing trick for most part of the year while the peons don the garb of the medical personnel—may be informal training does the trick.

And on top of that, the missing doctors make headlines only when a post mortem has to be done. Otherwise, no one pays heed to what’s going around in the districts, especially the remote ones.

Doctors who have been deputed to the remote districts often complain the lack of medicines as well as the necessary equipment to perform their tasks. And they are often away from the headquarters attending seminars and training at the regional level so that their expertise is enhanced. This basically seems to be reason why doctors are away from the district hospitals most of the time.

Whether working in the hospitals of the remote district, the doctors are assured of better chances for promotion and further training as long as they complete at least a year in the district hospital.

There are doctors who complain that in some remote districts like Dolpa and Jumla, patients hardly turn up for treatment. The traditional methods of healing is resorted and when there’s no hope the district hospital is the final place to be visited. By the time the patient is brought to the hospital, the doctor, if he is present, can do nothing but only pray.

Providing incentives to doctors if they serve in remote districts is good and fine but together with it the necessary medicines and equipment must also be available. The doctor is able and efficient but what can he do when the facilities are lacking. The only way is to refer the patient to the zonal hospital or best of all to Kathmandu. Does this end the function of the district hospital? Of course not.

The only way for health services for the people to be easily accessible is not the building designated as a hospital alone or only the doctor but awareness among the people also for availing the services.