Chitwan – What are good cows that have received proper care? What are the necessary feed and tools for caring for dairy animals? What can be made from the milk produced? What tools, equipment and technologies are required for that? Those who attend the first International Dairy Expo (Exhibition) to be held in Bharatpur will get answers to these questions. The expo is starting from Magh 25.

In the five-day expo, Nepal and Indian companies that are producing various tools and equipment for the dairy industry will also have stalls. Among the organizers, Bangladeshi companies are also planning to have stalls, said Kishor Bagale, president of Chitwan District Milk Producers Cooperative Association Limited. The cooperative and the Chitwan Industry Association have jointly organized the expo.

On the fourth day of the expo, Wednesday, Magh 28, there will be a quiz competition related to the dairy sector, an exhibition of advanced breed cows, and an honor program for the best milk producer cooperatives. The organizers plan to bring good cows to the exhibition site. The audience will definitely be curious about how these cows became good. And the organizers aim to tell them how to make cows better.

‘After putting good cows on display, those who come to see them will know what to pay attention to when choosing a cow, what the udder, tail, and body should be like,’ said Dr. Lekhnath Adhikari, a veterinarian and program manager of the exhibition’s supporting organization, Heifer International Nepal. The age of a cow can be determined based on its teeth. Farmers will learn about such small but necessary things. There will also be stalls of dairy cooperatives that have been collecting milk and producing various products. ‘This will encourage dairy cooperatives to engage in the production of various milk products. It will provide knowledge about the quantity of milk produced and what kind of tools and equipment are required,’ said Bagale, the chairman of the district cooperative. He said that everyone from farmers to industrialists will benefit from the exhibition.

‘Whether they are raising a few cows or large farms, everyone can benefit. Those who are raising cows and buffaloes for their own homes will be able to learn how to produce quality milk by taking good care of them,’ said Bagale. Similarly, he said that materials and information required by small and large dairy industrialists will also be available at the exhibition.

‘New technologies keep coming up in the field of milk production and dairy industry. Such exhibitions are also held in India. Such exhibitions related to dairy were not held in Nepal. We are about to start such an exhibition in Nepal,’ said Bagale. He said that he is trying to end the compulsion to go to foreign exhibitions to learn about the technologies and equipment coming to the dairy production and industry.

There will be more than a hundred stalls at the exhibition. Stalls of government agencies related to dairy, such as the Department of Animal Services, the Dairy Development Board, insurance and financial institutions will also be at the exhibition. Bagale said that there is an opportunity to get information on government policies and financial management. He said that farmers and dairy industrialists from all over the country have been invited to participate in and observe the exhibition.

'This exhibition is also useful for farmers as well as dairy cooperatives and industrialists, technicians, doctors active in the animal health sector, students and other general public,' said Bagale. He said that about 50,000 people are expected to visit the exhibition in five days. Admission is free.