Vet university trains farmers on milk value addition, packaging

Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, organised a ‘Method Demonstration and Training Camp’ on value addition of milk for farmers under the ICAR-sponsored Farmer FIRST Project.

This innovative initiative was conducted at the newly adopted village, Qila Raipur, under the project, where beneficiary farmers were introduced to the concept of value addition of milk. Farmers received training in the preparation of various milk-based products and witnessed demonstrations on packaging machinery. The camp was coordinated by Dr Gopika Talwar, co-principal investigator of the project, along with Dr Rekha Chawla and Dr Gurpreet Kour Tulla.

Dr Chawla trained the beneficiaries in the scientific method of paneer preparation and addressed their queries related to the process. She introduced them to various milk products such as flavoured milk, khoya, mozzarella cheese and ghee. Farmers were informed that enhancing the value of milk could lead to better economic returns. She also sensitised them to the importance of scientific production methods, which enable precise investment and ensure product quality.

Dr Gopika Talwar spoke about the marketing of value-added products and provided hands-on training for cup-sealer, hand-sealer and pedal sealer machines. She explained the procedures involved in using these machines to package products such as kheer, lassi, whey drinks and flavoured milk. She emphasised that packaging not only improves customer convenience but also enhances the aesthetics and marketability of the products.

The team encouraged farmers to adopt scientific techniques for milk by-product value addition and to embrace an entrepreneurial approach by utilising modern equipment to package and market their products.