Dairy-based Livelihoods
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100ml of milk for sampling, Sahayog’s PMC
utilises only 20 ml for testing. The milk is
then finally weighed on an electronic weigh-
ing machine and a slip is given to the farmer
which is a record of his/her outstanding
payment and is updated in his/her account
electronically. Since each PMC is connected
to a central server, Sahayog can trace each
can and each PMC through MIS. In case of
any issue of bad quality of milk, the farmers
are not penalised. The company has been
analysing milk for adulteration and the
farmers have been counselled to provide
clean milk. Over a period of time, adultera-
tion practices have been curbed.
Payments aremade every fortnight which
ensure regular flow of income and financial
stability. In 28 centres, payments are made
directly in the bank accounts of the farmers
and in other centres, account opening pro-
cesses are on. The accounts are opened in the
names of women, though it is a challenge to
open bank accounts. Thus, the entire pro-
cess is designed to be fair, transparent and
farmer-friendly.
Milk chilling and processing to ensure
clean milk
The milk routes are designed in such a way
that within four hours of production, the
milk reaches the chilling centers to ensure
low bacterial growth. Stainless cans are used
at farmers’ level and also at the collection
centres.
SCMPL has created a state-of-the-art
processing plant for pasteurisation of milk
and production of value-added products
like ghee, paneer,
dahi
,
mawa
and lassi. This
plant is located in Sandalpur andDewas with
a handling capacity of 1.5 lakh litres per day.
The structure of the plant is designed in such
a manner that it reduces heat emissions,
thereby promoting energy conservation.
Utmost care about hygiene is taken in
this plant and an automatic clean-in-process
system has been installed that maintains
hygiene in the plant by cleaning even the
most hard-to-reach areas, twice a day. The
milk is pouched using advanced machines
which can pouch 40,000 litres of milk in a
day. Themachines ensure consistent quality,
minimum leakages and less maintenance
charges. The milk is pouched in a five-layer
pouching film pack which reduces chances
of contamination and leakages while pro-
viding the pouches better tensile strength.
The workforce of the entire plant is
comprised of local residents and youth. This
generates livelihood opportunities for the
local populace.
SCMPL takes pride in the fact that 100
per cent of the milk procured is through its
own milk collection centers. However at
times, the company faces severe competition
in certain pockets. Once a PMC is found
successful, other dairies enter the village. In
some villages, the business is divided among
four to five dairies. In order to attract farm-
ers, other dairies initially mention higher
fat content and make a larger payment. In
due course, farmers understand the issue
and return back. This affects the viability of
a PMC. Since the company has long-term
plans for improving the dairy business, it
manages these downturns.
Previously, SCMPL sold the entire milk
procured to bulk consumers which included
reputed firms like Haldiram’s (Nagpur),
ANIK Industries Limited (Dewas) and
Modern Dairy. In business-to-business
(B2B) the company found very little mar-
gins and had to move into value addition in
order to earn better margins, eventually to
be passed on to farmers.
FromApril 2015, SCMPL has started sell-
ing packaged milk under its brand Pure-1.
In the near future, SCMPL plans to launch
value-added milk products under its own
brand name which will be sold in bulk and
later developed into packaged products.
SCMPL plans to launch its products in a
phased manner in major towns across the
routes to Bhopal and Indore.
Key outcomes
The outcomes achieved by the company
within a short time are impressive. Eighty
per cent of the villagers are loyal though
