|
You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here
|
|
|
Amul welcomes decision of Modi govt to have separate dairying ministry
|
Monday, 10 June, 2019, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
|
Our Bureau, New Delhi
|
The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF), which markets dairy products under the brand name Amul, has welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to have a separate ministry for animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries. It is the first time the government at the centre has formed a separate department for animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries.
Commenting on this development, Ramsinhbhai Parmar, chairman, GCMMF, said that as per the latest animal enumeration, the bovine population in India is 30 crore.
Dairying and animal husbandry contribute about Rs 7.7 lakh crore per year, which is about 4.2 per cent of the national GDP (gross domestic product) and emerged as a primary source of income for about seven crore rural households – most of them are either landless, small or marginal farmers. Animal husbandry and dairying contributes about 30 per cent of the total agriculture GDP.
Parmar said, “Milk is the largest agriculture crop of India, and the total value of produced is about Rs 7 lakh crore, which is more than the total value of all pulses and grain put together. It is, therefore most appropriate, that a separate ministry is created, which would ensure proper focus and right budget and resource allocation that the sector requires.”
He added that India has been the largest milk producer country of the world for the last 21 years. The current milk production of India stands at about 176 million metric tonne per year (48 crore litre per day), which is about 20 per cent of the world milk production.
Parmar stated that dairying and animal husbandry sector has a potential to increase farmers’ income and to achieve the Prime Minister’s vision to double farmers’ income by the year 2022-23 over the base year 2015-16.
Currently, animal husbandry and dairying contribute about 12 per cent of total farmers’ income, but as per the NSSO survey, farmers’ income growth rate from the sector is about 14.3 per cent, which implies that the sector can contribute greatly in doubling farmers’ income.
Parmar also welcomed the centre’s decision to allocate a separate budget to control foot and mouth disease (FMD) and Brucellosis.
On this occasion, R S Sodhi, managing director, GCMMF, has informed that milk producer members are losing around 80-90 per cent of milk when infected with FMD and around 25-30 per cent when infected with brucellosis.
He added, “By vaccinating all bovine animals against FMD and Brucellosis, we can reduce the milk production loss, which is directly beneficial to the milk producer members.”
It is important to note that in the next 40 years, India’s population will increase to 170 crore billion from the current 135 crore, and about 50 per cent of the Indian population will reside in urban areas, from current level of about 32 per cent.
Based on urbanisation and population growth estimates, dairy industry envisaged that India needs around 64 crore litre of milk per day to fulfill the demand for milk and milk products. This means that India’s milk production needs to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 3.2 per cent for the next 40 years.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|