Page 34 - 10 Most Influencive Leaders of Agriculture 2019

Meet this Odisha

Entrepreneur Who Took His

Dairy Brand Up to 300 Cr

Being an entrepreneur is a tough launched Pragati Milk and started a day. However, it has captured
choice, which takes lots of courage procuring milk from dairy farmers around 40 percent of market share
and hurdles and moreover if it’s at village collection points. As per in Odisha, Paresh told media
related to agriculture, farming than his statement in front of media, recalling the days of beginning.
it takes much more patience and most of this was milk from cows,
guts than one can think of. Today as buffalo milk makes up just 15 “I invested Rs 2 crore out of my
our story will introduce the farmer percent of total production in the own pocket. The remaining Rs 4
turned entrepreneur and now an state. The cow milk was then taken crore came from bank loans,” he
established businessman who in insulated tankers to a processing says. In 2010, Pragati followed
proved that nothing can beat your plant. After chilling, pasteurization, in the footsteps of the top dairy
success until and unless you have a and packaging, the packets of companies by starting to make milk
strong will power to reach your aim milk then went into delivery vans products such as ice cream, ghee,
destination. that delivered the milk to a wide curd, and paneer. Dairy brands do
network of distributors. Pragati this as the margin is higher on these
It was 2008 when Pradosh Kumar continues to follow this approach in value-added products than on milk.
Rout was putting pen to paper to 2019. “Through strong planning, hard
register his dairy company Pragati work, and recognizing the potential
Milk and just had one goal, tap into India’s dairy sector is a Rs 9,168 market demand for related products,
Odisha’s unorganized dairy sector billion (Rs 9.16 lakh crore) market we started making the value-added
in order to bring it under a brand. comprising a complex network products,” Pradosh adds.
of farmers, dairy cooperatives,
He recalled, “I saw only 20 percent private players, and cooperative
of the organized dairy sector was federations. The top dairy
covered by existing suppliers. The companies, such as Amul, Mother Challenges and future plans besides
other 80 percent had great potential Dairy, Heritage and Karnataka a few initial challenges, such as
and was waiting to be tapped.” Cooperative Milk Federation tax payments, Pradosh says the
company didn’t face many hurdles.
In the same year, he (which sells its products under the He says, “No further challenges
Nandini brand), all have massive came up since there is great scope
production capacities. Amul,
the largest one, claims a daily in the milk products sector. To stay
clear of issues, we use cold chain
milk handling capacity management systems through
of five million liters. refrigerated vehicles. We also take a
Compared to the hundred percent cash advancement
market leaders, Pragati
is small. It started off from retailers, and do our own
capital management.”
with a five thousand
liters per day capacity, Pradosh seems to have figured out
and today, it has a milk the strategy to succeed in the dairy
capacity of around industry, but Odisha has a long way
2.5 lakh liters to go in increasing its per capita

34 December 2019