WITH the aim of enhancing the quality and volume of cattle raw milk in Malaysia, the country’s leading dairy company Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd (DLMI) has inked a memorandum of collaboration (MOC) with the Department of Veterinary Services Malaysia (DVS) today.
The objective of this MOC is to establish a strategic partnership between Malaysia and the Netherlands to boost Malaysia’s supply of quality local fresh milk and to achieve a fully sustainable dairy cattle farming for the future.
Additionally, the collaboration is a milestone as Malaysia is aiming for 100% self-sufficiency level (SSL) for local fresh milk production by 2025 as part of the National Dairy Industry Development Programme which is currently at 62%, according to a 2020 statistics by DVS.
“With our 58-year presence in Malaysia, we are well-positioned to be the conduit between Malaysia and the Netherlands to facilitate knowledge transfer to create a successful, sustainable dairy sector in the country,” commented DLMI managing director Tarang Gupta.
He added the Dutch dairy industry has achieved its strong competitive international position based on high standards for technology and quality which DLMI is happy to share with Malaysia.
The collaboration will involve DLMI’s dairy development programme (DDP) and its farmer2farmer (F2F) programme as the ideal platform for Malaysia and the Netherlands to partner to achieve the goal of self-sufficient fresh milk supply to meet the growing need of Malaysian consumers.
To recap, DDP (introduced in 2008) and the F2F Programme (debuted in 2013) are two major dairy development initiatives by DLMI with strong support from DVS, MAFI and the Embassy of Netherlands in Malaysia.
DLMI is the first and only dairy company in Malaysia to actively initiate, lead and develop the DDP.
The initiative will encompass the exchange and sharing of resources, facilities, data, knowledge and skills in their respective areas of expertise and experience to ensure commercial and strategic advantages that are in the best interest of the participants.
The F2F programme focuses on good farming management and administration (sustainability and profitability), good milking/handling practices, effective feed and nutritional programme for cattle, monitoring methods, good breeding, and fertility programme.
Emphasis is placed on hygiene management and learning the essential elements in ensuring quality milk and also increasing the volume of local raw fresh milk.
“As the largest purchaser of local fresh milk from DVS milk collection centres in Malaysia, DLMI is committed to helping local dairy smallholders to increase their yield and milk quality, including making dairy farming a steady and growing income source for our vendors,” added Gupta. – April 2, 2021
