PONDA
Goa Dairy announced a total profit of Rs 1 crore 27 lakh for the financial year 2024-2025 at its general meeting held on Sunday. The meeting was chaired by President Parag Nagarsekar and attended by Managing Director Naveen Kumar alongside government-appointed directors Rama Parab and Venkatesh Shenoi.
The proceedings began with a commotion as farmers noticed the presence of disqualified directors in the hall. Several members raised concerns that these directors, declared disqualified by the Cooperative Department, did not have the right to participate in the meeting. The disqualified directors, however, defended their presence, stating that although disqualified as directors of Goa Dairy, they continued to serve as presidents of their respective milk dairy organizations and were present in that capacity.
Discussions highlighted a decline in both milk collection and consumption at Goa Dairy. Farmers suggested that bringing new entrants into the milk production sector could help reverse the trend. Some advocated increasing the support price for existing milk producers to attract new farmers into the supply chain. A strong demand was made to raise the current 40% support price to 100%, a proposal that the meeting decided to forward to the government for consideration.
Former president Durgesh Shirodkar spoke about the profit figures, noting that Goa Dairy earned Rs 1 crore 47 lakh in interest during the year. He cautioned that this interest income might have inflated the overall profit figures. Additionally, Shirodkar pointed out that recent retirements of several officers could have reduced salary expenses, further impacting the profit positively.
The meeting also discussed the potential re-implementation of the Kamdhenu Yojana in a revised form to further support the dairy sector.
