Hariyali Kisan Bazaar (HKB), the rural retail venture of DCM Shriram Consolidated Limited (DSCL), has initiated a programme to procure milk directly from farmers under its farm output services in Uttar Pradesh (UP). The company is already operating its pilot dairy in Hardoi and Lakhimpur Khiri districts in central UP, where it has four sugar factories.
HKB, with an objective to increase the productivity and profitability of farmers, has initiated this milk procurement service. “Till date we were focusing more on our agronomy services to help farmers but now have identified milk procurement as an area to add to their income,” informs Vikram Shriram, vice-chairman and managing director, DSCL.
Shriram adds, “We chose Central UP to establish this service as we have a strong presence of 123 Hariyali outlets as well as close links with sugar farmers in this region. The objective was to establish a robust business model and then expand to other regions.”
“Our next target is Rajasthan where we have 35 outlets of HKB. We will be starting these operations in Alwar and Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan by the end of this year,” informs Shriram.
“As Hariyali works directly with farmers and has the last mile reach, we felt that the model should be farmer-centric so that they can notice transparency in our activities. At the same time, we should be able to demonstrate our ability of supplying quality milk at competitive prices to a dairy processor so that they can focus on value addition rather than focussing only on supply chain. This will also facilitate daily engagement between the Hariyali outlets and the farmer,” he says.
Currently, HKB collects around 3,500 litre milk per day in UP and by December 2009, the company aims to collect 5,000 litre milk per day.
— Diwakar Kumar
