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-KH News Desk (cbedit@imaws.org)
BL Agro, India’s leading FMCG company, today inaugurated BL Kamdhenu Farms, which will comprise state-of-the art Centre of Excellence for Cow Breeding and Dairy Technology, in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. The company will initially invest Rs. 1,000 crores in the project and aims to create a circular economy that would benefit the farmers of Uttar Pradesh.
This pioneering initiative, called Satat Kamdhenu, was inaugurated by Shri Chirag Paswan, Minister of Food Processing Industries, Govt of India, will transform the dairy and livestock industry in Uttar Pradesh by leveraging cutting-edge technology and scientific advancements to improve cattle genetics, milk productivity, and overall herd health. Also present at the occasion were Shri Ghyanshyam Khandelwal, Chairman, BL Agro, Ashish Khandelwal, Managing Director, BL Agro and Navneet Ravikar, CEO, BL Agro and CMD, Leads Connect Services (Agritech Venture by BL Agro Group).
Commenting on the launch, Ashish Khandelwal, Managing Director, BL Agro said, “We are extremely delighted to share that BL Kamdhenu will serve as the focal point for research, training, and implementation of best practices in cattle breeding and dairy technology. The initial investment in the project is around Rs.1,000 crores and the whole project once it is up to full capacity will cost Rs. 3,000 crores. Our key focus has been to create sustainable and a circular economy that minimizes agri waste and boost the local community. Our state-of-the-art Centre of Excellence for Cow Breeding and Dairy Technology will not only aim to enhance milk production and improve breed quality but also help farmers in achieving greater economic sustainability.”
The BL Kamdhenu, is a part of expansion plan of BL Agro, to grow from farm foods to sustainable dairy farming. This project integrates advanced breeding technologies (IVF & ET), a feed mill for internal and external consumption, and bio-methanation for CBG production, ensuring a self-sustaining, eco-friendly model. The project will initially house 5000 indigenous cows, focusing on sustainable dairy farming. This number will increase to 10,000 cows as the project goes forward.
The event also saw BL Agro unveiling its new subsidiary Leads Agri Genetics that will work towards enhancing animal genetics, livestock improvement, plant breeding, crop genomics, and work towards sustainable and ethical breeding.
While BL Kamdhenu will focus on cattle breeding, Leads Agri Genetics will work towards plant and animal genetics like preserving and enhance indigenous livestock breeds and heirloom crop varieties, develop breeds and crop varieties that reduce environmental impact, such as lower methane-emitting cattle and resource-efficient crops. It will also follow bioethics and regulatory standards to ensure genomic selection that aligns with sustainability and animal welfare with a focus on training and supporting farmers, cooperatives, and agribusinesses in leveraging genomic data for better productivity.
Navneet Ravikar, CEO, BL Agro, said, “In the initial stage, BL Kamdhenu will benefit 5000 local farmers in the next 2-3 years and as it scales up its production to full capacity, it would benefit 1-2 lakh farmers in a radius of 20 kilometers around Bareilly.”
BL Agro will sell high milching cows to the local community and provide them with best quality feed and buy back the milk from the farmers. For this purpose, the Centre will also have a field processing unit that would be working with the farming community to source raw material like milk from them. They would also work closely with the farming community to source farm waste for the proposed CBG plant. BL Kamdhenu underscores BL Agro’s commitment to supporting India’s dairy sector and creating a whole ecosystem that aims to commercialize the rural economy.
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