Striving to keep costs and prices low. The project has always worked to keep the costs of MUPs low, mainly through careful sourcing of raw materials. This was especially hard in 1998, when inflation pushed up the prices of all food items and agricultural products in India. However, the new plant in Mehsana is expected to bring down production costs through mass-processing efficiencies and reduced transportation costs. Since the government controls milk prices and dairy producers cannot charge more to recover the cost of using MUPs, it is essential that MUPs continue to be competitively priced.
Cultural barriers continue to hamper recruitment of women.
Because women are the primary livestock caretakers in India, this project has targeted women in its efforts to recruit marketing agents. Although the status of women is slowly improving in India, the goal of employing women as marketing agents has been restricted by socio-cultural traditions. More funds are needed to accurately document results. Systematically documenting results of MUP use at the farmer level will require additional expenditures, which the project has not budgeted for at this time. A new enterprise's success may require balancing business and socioeconomic goals.