Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal along with Siraj Chaudhry, Chairman, Cargill India and Achyuth Iyengar, Managing Director, Cargill Feed & Nutrition-India broke ceremonial ground on Cargill India's greenfield dairy feed mill in Bathinda in Punjab on Wednesday.
The Rs. 70 crore project by Cargill, the global leader in animal nutrition, will cater to the growing need for quality feed for Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan dairy farmers.
The 1,20,000 MT feed manufacturing plant will encompass an area of 8.5 acres, and use the latest technology from Cargill USA and Cargill Italy feed manufacturing plants.
The project is also expected to generate employment opportunities for approximately 200 people, along with providing training for 20,000 farmers annually on dairy nutrition, calf rearing and farm management best practices.
Bringing the relevant nutrition, training and operational excellence best practices, the plant will produce nutritious diet for cows and allow for crop diversification, increasing grain usage by 12,500 metric tons per year.
Speaking on the occasion, Siraj Chaudhry said, "India is already the largest milk producing country with key dairy states like Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Rajasthan. With the milk demand in India expected to grow by +80mil MT or 50% by 2023, the animal feed mill will play an essential role in catering to the increasing demand. Cargill Animal Nutrition plays a critical role in the feed to food supply chain, and these series of investments in Punjab further reiterate our continued commitment to India and help to make Punjab our Dairy Hub in India."
Commenting on the launch, Sukhbir Singh Badal said, "We are delighted at Cargill India's latest investment with this environment friendly plant, which will put Punjab on a global map with other leading model dairy regions the world over. This initiative will equip local farmers with the knowhow and help in implementing a reliable supply chain for dairy processing. We wish this project great success."
Achyuth, Managing Director of Cargill Feed & Nutrition, India business, added, "Cargill's investment will feed approximately 75,000 cows per year, incentivize over 3000 farmers towards growing grains and help in crop diversification".
Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. Cargill transforms commodities such as corn, soybeans and wheat into innovative feed and nutrition for livestock and fish that ultimately becomes high quality protein to feed the world's growing population meeting the protein needs of approximately 1.5 billion people.
Cargill will bring solution driven methods to Punjab's dairy feed needs, such as NIR testing for incoming raw material quality, nutrient driven formulation and rigorous testing of both raw materials and finished feed to improve results for farmers. Cargill will employ leading technologies currently used at our Global R&D and Technology Application Center to achieve the same.
