Asha Mahila Milk Producer Company started its work in 2016 in Bali, located in the Pali district of Rajasthan. The area is primarily a tribal zone where people are mostly daily wage earners. Landholding is fragmented, and the farming being practised in the area is conventional and leads to subsistence earnings.
Before the Dairy Health and Nutrition Initiative of India Foundation (DHANII) started working in the area, dairy was not treated as a business. Farmers were selling milk at local sweet shops or to middlemen at meagre price. The income was low and irregular.
Asha Mahila Milk Producer Company Limited was incorporated in Bali, Rajasthan, on March 21, 2016 as a producer company under Part IXA of the Companies Act, 1956, with the financial support of DHANII and the technical support of NDDB Dairy Services (NDS) to provide livelihood to poor rural women by setting up a transparent milk procurement system and providing technical input services. The company commenced its business operations in November 2016 with 100 villages.
Growth and Impact
Since 2016, Asha Mahila Milk Producer Company has registered impressive growth, from a turnover of INR 4 crore in its first year to the present turnover of INR 184 crores in March 2023.
With an impressive membership of ~36,000+ women, the members earn about Rs 100,000 annually from dairying.
Women have better confidence and entrepreneurial skills. While dairy was never perceived as a business in the operational areas, today not only women but their entire families are supporting them with their ventures.
Started in Bali and later expanded to Sirohi, Jalore, Udaipur and Dungarpur; Asha’s story is an inspiration for all women, especially in rural and remote regions. Had it not been the courage and dedication of these women members, even the most robust strategies and plans would have failed.
Highlights
- 609 Milk Pooling Points.
- Currently procuring ~93,000 Lakh Kgs of milk per day.
- A payment of INR 812.50 crore has been made to the members since inception.
- INR 43 Lakhs dividend paid in 2022-23
- INR 5.82 crore is the share capital till March 2024