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Focus on dairy & poultry farmers, innovative entrepreneurs at conclave
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Thursday, 02 June, 2022, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ashwani Maindola, New Delhi
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As part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, in association with CII, organised a conclave with a focus on dairy & poultry farmers, innovative entrepreneurs, startups and industry as well as a digital exhibition to showcase the best 75 indigenous breeds from bovine/caprine/avian/porcine species.
The conference at the conclave focussed on three technical thematic sessions including increasing productivity and improving animal health, value addition and market linkages and innovation and technology. The focus was also on showcasing the key trends, identifying the opportunity and drawing a clear roadmap for the dairy and poultry sector with focus on enhancing farmers’ incomes.
According to the CII, while the production of agricultural crops has been rising at a rate of 1.5 to 2 per cent per annum, that of eggs and broilers has been rising at a rate of 8 to 10 per cent per annum. As a result, India is now the world’s fifth largest egg producer and the 18th largest producer of broilers.
Also, India is the largest producer and consumer of milk supported by sustained growth in the availability of milk and milk products. With 302.34 million cattle heads, almost 18% of the total bovine population globally, India accounts for around 22% of the world’s milk annually.
Experts suggest, “Given the large cattle population, India is uniquely positioned to increase its production capacities, by way of increasing productivity per milch animal. Also, good animal genetics, focus on feed management, strengthened breeding infrastructure, and advanced breeding methods such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer offer scope for better animal health management.”
On the subject of value addition, the experts opined that over the past few years, India has witnessed significant increase in the consumption of traditional value-added dairy products such as ghee, dairy sweets, curd, butter, alongside emerging value-added products like cheese, yogurt, UHT (ultra-heat treatment) milk, flavoured milk, dairy whitener and whey.
“At the same time, innovative healthy dairy products are being added to the product portfolio as most dairy processors are expanding their offerings to access the evolving value-added product market, a result of the changing consumer preference for milk products. We are also seeing alternatives like A2 cow milk, goat milk, camel milk finding shelf space,” the deliberations concluded.
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