Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Radha Mohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the first dairy plant in Motihari stressing that dairy farming has become a source of livelihood and food security at the rural level, especially for landless and marginal farmers. Motihari is Singh’s constituency.
The minister said that the growth in the dairy sector is a result of initiatives taken by the Government by implementing various schemes to increase productivity of milch animals. “India is the prime producer of milk and has been holding the number one position globally over the past two decades” he underlined.
Milk production has witnessed a phenomenal growth in recent years and the Per Capita availability of milk has also grown by 15.6% during the year 2016-17 taking it to 355 grams from 307 grams in 2013-14. “Likewise, the income of the dairy farmers grew by 23.77% during 2014-17 compared to 2011-14. In the last three years, milk production in India grew by 6.3% every year thus surpassing the annual global growth rate of 2.1%, Singh stated.
The minister said India has reached a stage where it is capable of providing abundant opportunities for entrepreneurs at the international level. About 80 million farmers are connected with the dairy business and they rear 80% of the total milch cattle, he added.
It bears recall that more than agriculture it is the Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries which are being positioned to fulfill the Prime Minister’s mission of doubling farmers’ income by the 75th anniversary of India’s independence.
On this occasion, Singh also mentioned about Rashtriya Gokul Mission for the conservation and promotion of indigenous breeds.
He also touched upon the National Mission on Bovine Productivity Scheme launched in 2016 with an allocation of Rs. 825 crore. The aim is to accelerate milk production and productivity and to also make milk production more profitable.
