Milk cooperative Sundarini gets international award
Kolkata: Sunderbans-based milk cooperative popularly known as Sundarini has been awarded by the International Dairy Federation (IDF). The prestigious international award was conferred in the Third IDF Dairy Innovation Awards held in Paris, France on Friday for Innovative and Sustainable Farming Practices.
“Happy to share another success story involving our Sundarbans women! Our milk cooperative Sundarini (Sundarban Cooperative Milk Union & Livestock Producers’ Union) and NDDB (National Dairy Development Board) together have won a prestigious international award from the International Dairy Federation,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shared on her X handle.
According to Banerjee, the state emerged victorious from among 153 entries globally.
“Sundarini, a co-operative milk union under our Animal Resources Development Department, comprises 4,500 women farmers in South 24-Parganas district with milk production of 2000 litres daily and processed milk products of 250 kg daily. During 2023-24, the milk union provided income generation of about Rs 4 crore for the rural women of Sundarbans,” Banerjee wrote on her X.
She congratulated the entrepreneurial spirit of the women members of Sundarini milk union and the officers concerned. Sundarini is the brainchild of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee which was rolled out to empower the women of Sunderbans in the year 2015. Apart from a plethora of traditional Bengali sweets, various snacks, savouries, dahi, paneer, organic cow ghee, organic wild Sunderban honey are sold under the brand Sundarini Naturals.
The Cooperative scores over others for its organic method adopted in every step right from milk collection, transportation to its dairy plant and then manufacture of milk products. In August 2020, Sundarini acquired certificate from a noted Gurgaon-based Food Analysis and Research Laboratory that Sundarini Organic Cow Milk is free from any sort of preservative or adulterants or pesticides.
Sundarini is now laying special emphasis on expansion of its business assisting the farmers to make bulk production of milk. It is also laying special emphasis for marketing various Sundarini products at the pan-India level and for this it has laid emphasis upon increasing the shelf life of the various packaged products of Sundarini.
