PM Modi says, women lead India’s dairy cooperatives, production higher than combined value of wheat and rice
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the country is building the largest database of dairy animals and every animal associated with dairy sector is being tagged. Inaugurating the International Dairy Federation World Dairy Summit 2022, in Greater Noida, Mr. Modi said that India’s dairy sector is recognised for production by masses rather than mass production. He said, India has become the largest producer of dairy products in the world due to the collective efforts of small-scale dairy farmers. He said, in 2014, India produced 146 million tonnes of milk and now it has increased to 210 million tonnes, which is an increase of about 44 percent. Prime Minister Narendra Modi says the country is building the largest database of dairy animals.
The Prime Minister said, the potential of the dairy sector not only gives impetus to the rural economy, but it is also a major source of livelihood for crores of people across the world. He said, unlike other developed countries of the world, in India the driving force of the dairy sector are the small farmers. Mr. Modi highlighted that Government’s focus is to develop a balanced dairy ecosystem. Mr. Modi said, the digital revolution witnessed in India has also reached the dairy sector. He said, digital payment system developed for India’s dairy sector can help farmers across the world.
Highlighting the power of women in the dairy sector, the Prime Minister pointed out that women have a 70% representation in the workforce and are the real leaders of India’s dairy sector. He said at more than eight and a half lakh crore rupees, the dairy sector is more than the combined value of wheat and rice. This is all driven by the women power of India.
The Prime Minister said, India is engaged in developing technologies of biometric authentication of the dairy animals namely Pashu-Aadhaar to enhance the production in the dairy sector. He said, in the last few years, Lumpy skin disease has been a threat to the cattle and a vaccine has been prepared for this disease indigenously, to safeguard their lives. Mr. Modi said, plastic has become a menace for the cattle and Government is committed to remove single-use plastic. He said, by 2025, foot and mouth disease vaccination will be provided to all dairy animals. The Prime Minister said, monoculture is not the only solution in farming and there is a need for diversity. He added that this also applies to animal husbandry. The Prime Minister said, that’s why today in India, attention is being paid to both indigenous breeds and hybrid breeds. He said, Gobar Dhan yojana is an example of dairy sector development.
The four-day long summit is a congregation of global and Indian dairy stakeholders including industry leaders, experts, farmers and policy planners centering around the theme of ‘Dairy for Nutrition and Livelihood. Around 1500 participants from 50 countries are participating in the Summit. The last such Summit was held in India about half a century ago in 1974. The Indian dairy industry is unique in the sense that it is based on a cooperative model that empowers small and marginal dairy farmers, especially women. The government has taken multiple steps for the betterment of the dairy sector resulting in an increase of milk production by more than 44 per cent in the last eight years. The success story of the Indian dairy industry, accounting for about 23 per cent of the global milk, producing around 210 million tonnes annually and empowering more than 8 crore dairy farmers, will be showcased at the Summit.