CHANDIGARH, JAN 31: Field Research Laboratories of the Corps of Military Farms (MFs), have succeeded in standardising 43 varieties of grains, vegetables, oil seeds and fodder, which can now be grown in the cold deserts of Ladakh at a height of 12,000 feet.Stating this on the eve of the 110th Corps Day, Lt Col (Dr) S.S. Randhawa, Deputy Director MFs Western Command added that following the Army's experiment, local farmers are now cultivating high yield crops to meet local demand as well as supplying fresh vegetables to Army units worth Rs 2.5 crore annually. Besides boosting local economy, the Army has also been able to cut down transportation costs significantly.MFs are now diversifying their activities by establishing goat farms at Secunderabad and Missamari and poultry farms at Karu, Tanga, Dimapur and Missamari to meet troop's requirements of meat, fowls and eggs. Milk production units have also been established at over a dozen far flung places to supply fresh milk to remote outposts.The GOC-in-C, Western Command, Lt Gen H.B. Kala, Colonel Commandant of the Crops, Lt Gen M.S. Bhullar and DDGMF, Brig V.P. Singh have feliciated all ranks of the Corps and their families on this occasion.The history of MFs goes back to 1889 when a military dairy was established at Allahabad, followed by several MFs at Mhow, Kota, Firozepur, Kirkee, Belgaum, Bangalore, Jalandhar, Wellington and other cantonments for milk supply to troops and hospitals.In the field of research on animal husbandry, MFs was the oldest organisation with the unique distinction of being the pioneer in cattle cross breeding work in the country since 1907 onwards and greatly contributed towards "white revolution".MFs had also played a motherly role for establishment of the National Dairy Research Institute at Karnal and Bangalore by transferring some of its establishments to the government in 1923.MFs also operated a military creamery at Anand in Gujarat since 1915, which used to send butter during the first world war to distant fronts like Mesopotamia and iraq.Today, MFs is the only organisation involved in multi-dimensional functions in the field of agriculture, animal husbandry and dairy farming both for producing milk and its products.
