Scheam India Invests Rs 73 Cr in J&K Dairy Sector

Jammu, Jan 24 (PTI) Scheam India has signed an agreement with the Jammu and Kashmir Dairy Cooperative Federation and agro cooperatives (FPOs) to invest Rs 73 crore to boost the dairy infrastructure and entrepreneurship in J&K and Ladakh.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by Vikrant Dogra, Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Dairy Coop Federation Limited (JKDCF), UNATI Multistate Cooperative and Nikhil Gowda Kedambadi of Scheam India.

"The MoU has been signed to revolutionize the dairy infrastructure and entrepreneurship in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, fostering a conducive environment for startups in the dairy cooperative sector," an official said.

Kedambadi highlighted the significance of the recently held startup conclave Uhay in Jammu, paving the way for this transformative agreement.

"The MOU has been done while recognizing the importance of the dairy cooperative sector and FPO ecosystem, which has hugely flourished in union territory in the last 2-3 years," he said.

The MOU aims to bring parity to cooperatives (FPOs), enabling them to compete in the open market and contributing to the development of rural areas in the Union territory, JKDCF Chairman Vikrant Dogra said.

"The MOU will explore opportunities for creating dairy start-ups in areas like Rajouri-Poonch, Reasi-Udhampur, Kishtwar-doda, Baramulla-Kupwara and other distant locations and help encourage startup culture in rural parts of Union territory," he said.

The fund will be utilised by cooperatives (FPOs) to build projects for switching over from conventional methods of farming to smart farming by introducing Artificial Intelligence, Greenhouse farming, drone technology and solutions, he added.

Scheam India Chairman Ajay Chowdhary emphasized that the current MOU will serve as a platform and hand-holding support for the emerging Farmer Producers Organizations (FPO) ecosystem in JKUT, fostering a robust rural economy.