The virtually dormant Pakistan Dairy Development Company (PDDC) has failed to fulfil its financial/contractual obligations due to non release of funds by the federal government for functioning of the PDDC. PDDC was established in 2005 as a Special Initiative of the Prime Minister with the objective of introducing best dairy practices of leading dairy countries of the world with a view to bring "The White Revolution - Doodh Darya" in Pakistan.
Over 400 farmers were registered in the PDDC project 'Doodh Darya' and as per the tripartite legal agreements with the dairy farmers and the financial institutions, the Company had undertaken to bear the mark-up on the loans taken by dairy farmers from financial institutions for 5 years. The farmers obtained loans from different commercial banks under a tripartite agreement between the PDDC, growers and the banks.
The agreement further incentivized that on successful implementation of dairy farm practices for three years these farmers would become entitled to 50 percent grant of the total loans. During this period all these dairy interventions were to be fully supervised by the field staff of Dairy Pakistan as per agreement terms. Under the 18th Amendment the PDDC was to be transferred to the provinces along with agriculture, livestock and the food ministry. Since the PDDC was launched under the Prime Minister's special initiative. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani gave a two-year extension August 16, 2011 to let it be the federal government's project and fulfil its commitments with the already registered growers and financial institutions without making any new agreement, the sources said.
The federal government did not release any funds for normal functioning of the PDDC despite the fact that Prime Minister Gilani had expressed interest and satisfaction over PDDC's work and objectives during his visit to PDDC's "Dairy Village" in District Okara last year. Now more than 400 livestock farmers registered with the PDDC are strongly protesting against default of PDDC for not making payment of mark-up under the agreement and the farmers were undergoing great financial losses. Not only the farmers who are badly affected by the PDDC's schemes but also the staff of the Company had been working without salaries for the last eight months due to paucity of funds, sources in the Company told Business Recorder.
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