Prime Minister Narendra Modi while inaugurating the International Dairy Federation’s (IDF) World Dairy Summit 2022 in Greater Noida on Monday said that India’s cooperative diary model can be a guide to prosperity for poor countries.
Modi said that India’s dairy sector is different from other developed countries and its real strength lies in the small and marginal farmers, who make major contribution to India’s milk production.
‘Production by population, not mass production, has been the hallmark of India’s dairy sector. This is rarely seen anywhere else in the world. In this World Dairy Summit, I mention it specifically because it can be a great business model for farmers from many poor countries around the world,’ Modi said adding that most of the dairy producing farmers of India are one, two or two farmers. Keeps three animals.
India is hosting the summit after a gap of 48 years. During that period, India’s milk production has increased from 23 million tonnes in 1974 to about 210 million tonnes now.
Cooperatives played a big role in making India self-reliant in dairy and the dairy cooperative network of the country has been unparalleled without middlemen. “About 70 per cent of the money received from consumers goes directly into the accounts of farmers and in the case of Gujarat, the entire money goes to women dairy farmers. There is no other country in the world where you will get such a high ratio (of revenue share),’ Modi said.
native breeds
From the podium of the World Dairy Summit, Modi also showed the world other features of the Indian dairy sector such as indigenous breeds that are ‘climate-adapted and equitably accommodating’ and women leadership, which accounts for about 70 per cent of the workforce in dairy and nearly 1 per cent of the workforce. is /3. in cooperative.
Modi also said that women living in India’s villages are the driving force of the Rs 8.5 lakh crore Indian dairy industry. He appealed that the World Dairy Summit requires global leaders to recognize the contribution of women in dairy and provide them access to various global platforms.
Listing out the priorities in the times to come, Modi said that the government is now focusing on creating a balanced dairy ecosystem in the country. We will not only look after milk and milk products, but will try to find solutions to other challenges (such as creating additional income for farmers), empowering the poor, sanitation, chemical-free farming, clean energy and animal care. These are all interconnected areas. We are planning to make dairy sector and animal husbandry a major vehicle for green and sustainable development in villages. There are some efforts in this direction.
Notably, India’s milk production is growing at a rate of six per cent, much higher than the global average of two per cent. The per capita availability of milk in India is the highest in the world.