Palakkad: The state government has approved financial assistance through local self-government institutions for purchasing essential cattle feed materials such as hay, green fodder, and silage.

According to the new directive, local bodies are now permitted to provide financial support to dairy farmers at the rate of ₹4 per kilogram of hay and ₹3 per kilogram of green fodder and silage. Each farmer can receive up to ₹5,000 for hay and another ₹5,000 for fodder and silage.

All local self-government institutions have been directed to prepare the necessary projects to implement this scheme. The assistance will be disbursed through registered dairy cooperative societies.

Currently, local bodies provide a milk incentive of ₹3 per litre under a joint initiative by the district panchayat, block panchayats, and grama panchayats. In addition to this, support is also extended for the purchase of milch cows.

The new decision to extend aid for fodder was taken based on a resolution passed by the State-Level Coordination Committee of the Decentralised Planning Program. At present, most dairy cooperatives procure hay from paddy fields, paying up to ₹8 per kilogram. Green fodder costs around ₹5 per kilogram, while silage expenses can go up to ₹12 per kilogram.

A cow yielding five litres of milk a day requires at least 20 kilograms of hay daily. This makes fodder a major expense for small-scale farmers. Hence, even though modest, the newly introduced financial support is expected to provide much-needed relief to the struggling dairy farming community.