Present Status of Demand And Supply In Indian dairy Sector : From a milk-deficit nation to a milk-products exporter
The evolution of the dairy sector in India and the stellar role played by dairy cooperatives since the launch of Operation Flood form an integral part of the country’s remarkable growth story after Independence. Today, India is the largest producer of milk in the world, contributing 23% of global milk production.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the situation was radically different. India was a milk-deficit nation dependent on imports, and the annual production growth was negative for several years. The annual compound growth rate in milk production during the first decade after independence was 1.64%, which declined to 1.15% during the 1960s. In 1950-51, per capita consumption of milk in the country was only 124 grams per day. By 1970, this figure had dropped to 107 grams per day, one of the lowest in the world and well below the minimum recommended nutritional standards. India’s dairy industry was struggling to survive. The country produced less than 21 million tonnes of milk per annum despite having the largest cattle population in the world.
Following the visit of late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri to the Anand district of Gujarat in 1964, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) was created in 1965 with a mandate to support the creation of the ‘Anand Pattern’ of dairy cooperatives across the country through the Operation Flood (OF) programme which was to be implemented in phases.
The ‘Anand Pattern’ was essentially a cooperative structure comprising village-level Dairy Cooperative Societies (DCSs), which promote district-level unions, which in turn promote state-level marketing federation. Starting in 1970, NDDB replicated the Anand Pattern cooperatives through the Operation Flood programme all over India.
Dr. Verghese Kurien, widely renowned as the “Father of White Revolution” in India, was the first chairman of NDDB. Along with his team, Dr. Kurien commenced work on the launch of the project, which envisaged the organisation of Anand-pattern cooperatives in milk sheds across the country from where liquid milk produced and procured by milk cooperatives would be transported to cities.
Operation Flood was implemented in the following phases:
- Phase I (1970–1980)was financed by the sale of skimmed milk powder and butter oil donated by the European Union (then the European Economic Community) through the World Food Programme.
- Phase II (1981–1985)increased the number of milk sheds from 18 to 136; urban markets expanded the outlets for milk to 290. By the end of 1985, a self-sustaining system of 43,000 village cooperatives with 42,50,000 milk producers had been covered.
- Phase III (1985–1996)enabled dairy cooperatives to expand and strengthen the infrastructure required to procure and market increasing volumes of milk. This phase added 30000 new dairy cooperatives, which led to a total of 73,000.
Operation Flood helped quality milk reach consumers across 700 towns and cities through a National Milk Grid. The programme also helped remove the need for middlemen, thereby reducing seasonal price variations. The cooperative structure made the whole exercise of production and distribution of milk and milk products economically viable for farmers to undertake on their own. It also ended India’s dependence on imported milk solids. Not only was the nation equipped to meet its local dairy needs, but it also started exporting milk powder to many foreign countries. Genetic improvement of milking animals also increased due to cross-breeding. As the dairy industry modernised and expanded, around 10 million farmers started earning their income from dairy farming.
Milk production in 1950-51 stood at merely 17 Million Tonnes (MT). In 1968-69, prior to the launch of Operation Flood, milk production was only 21.2 MT which increased to 30.4 MT by 1979-80 and 51.4 MT by 1989-90. Now it has increased to 210 million tonnes in 2020-21. Today, milk production is growing at the rate of two per cent in the whole world, whereas in India, its growth rate is more than six per cent. The per capita availability of milk in India is much higher than the world average. In three decades (the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s), the daily milk consumption in the country rose from a low of 107 grams per person in 1970 to 427 grams per person in 2020-21 as against the world average of 322 grams per day during 2021.
After Operation Flood, the Indian dairy and animal husbandry sector emerged as a primary source of income for a huge number of rural households – most of them either landless, small or marginal farmers. Today, India holds the place of pride of having been the largest milk-producing country in the world for nearly two-and-a-half decades.
The dairy sector assumes a great deal of significance for India on various accounts. As an industry, it employs more than 80 million rural households, with the majority being small and marginal farmers as well as the landless. The cooperative societies have not only made the farmers self-sufficient but have also broken the shackles of gender, caste, religion, and community. Women producers form the major workforce of the dairy sector in the country. The sector is an important job provider, especially for women, and plays a leading role in women’s empowerment.
Every year, since 2001, June 1 is observed as World Milk Day by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations to acknowledge the importance of milk as a global food and to celebrate the dairy sector. In India, the birthday of Dr. Verghese Kurien, on November 26, is observed as National Milk Day.
With a series of measures being taken by the Government as well as the growing role of the private sector in dairy development, India is expected to sustain its growth in milk production and milk processing in the coming decades. Further, to encourage farmers to take up productivity enhancement of indigenous breeds of milch animals in a scientific manner and to motivate Cooperative and Milk producer Companies, the Government of India is conferring the prestigious National Gopal Ratna Awards on the occasion of National Milk Day.
The dairy sector has been a major contributor to the growth of the rural economy in India. The government has facilitated the dairy farming infrastructure through its initiatives such as the development of the National Dairy Plan, a sustainable development-focused framework for the sector, along with general empowerment schemes such as the Jan Dhan Yojana and the Start-up India initiative. In the past eight years, the animal husbandry and dairying sector have received a great deal of impetus under Prime Minister Modi’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, and the journey of this sector is indeed a remarkable reflection of self-reliance.
Yet the challenges remain. Small-scale, dispersed, and unorganized milk-animal owners; low productivity; inadequate and improper animal care; a lack of professional management; a dearth of basic infrastructure for the provision of production inputs and services; and an inadequacy of basic infrastructure for the sourcing, transportation, handling, and marketing of milk are a few of the challenges of the Indian dairy industry. Most milk comes from cows and goats kept by poor farmers and city people who don’t have access to pasture. Mixed-crop and livestock farms are common, and most milk cows are fed agricultural by-products and residues, which have very low opportunity costs. This means the dairy industry faces more challenges. The government has their support Milk production and bovine productivity have been significantly increased as a result of schemes like the Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM), the National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD), the Dairy Infrastructure Development Fund (DIF), and the Supporting Dairy Cooperatives & Farmer Producer Organizations (SDCFPO), which have helped to meet the rising demand for dairy and make dairy farming more financially rewarding for rural farmers. State agencies like the state cooperative dairy federations and the District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union have been at the forefront of creating and improving the technology needed to make high-quality milk and to buy, process, and sell milk and milk products.
The Current Scenario
Due to the country’s improving economy, more and more Indians now have disposable incomes that may be spent on goods like dairy. A further factor contributing to the expansion of the food and drink market is the increasing prevalence of dairy product use. One of the most important factors boosting the dairy industry in India is the introduction of new harvesting techniques that have increased output. The nation has made it a priority to increase its productivity per animal by implementing a number of different policies. The Indian government set up the National Dairy Programme to increase milk production and make it easier for farmers to get milk, which increased demand even more. Domestic and foreign private firms are also driving growth in India’s dairy business today. Private enterprises like these provide a diverse selection of goods to meet the needs of their customers. Customers are giving greater attention to high-end dairy products, including cheese, probiotic drinks, yoghurt, etc. Indians eat a lot of dairy products because they are high in calcium and have other important nutrients. This has increased demand and grown the dairy industry.
Future Trends to Keep an Eye On
The dairy industry in India is aiming to build a $355 billion industry by 2025. In the future, the following trends can be witnessed: Direct-to-Consumer Deliveries: There will be an increase in the number of businesses that provide express direct-to-consumer deliveries of dairy and dairy products. These businesses will allow consumers to place orders directly with the dairy supplier. Encourage digital banking: Promoting digital banking, digital payments, and fintech would help the livestock industry as a whole by making it faster for farmers to get paid for milk and other services they provide. Infrastructure: Throughout the whole of the supply chain, milk and other items that are directly associated with it need to be kept at the correct temperature. With the help of a number of government programs, the dairy industry in India is putting in place the right infrastructure to keep a smooth supply chain all the way to the consumers’ doors. Digitalizing the Local Store: Bringing the local shop onto the digital platform is one of the developments that can be anticipated in the future. This will enable speedier door-step delivery of dairy goods.
Constraints in Dairy farming in India
Constraints are the circumstances or the causes which forbid the course of action. There are several constraints in adopting the recommended dairy production technologies with varying degree of seriousness in increasing milk production. On one hand these constraints adversely affected the adoption of recommended dairy production technologies by the farmers while on the other hand block the flow of new technology from research scientists to extension agents and in turn to dairy farmers. Constraints related to animal breeding are like non availability of AI (Artificial Insemination) and PD (Pregnancy Diagnosis) services at their doorstep perceived as the major constraint followed by Lack of availability of staff round the clock for AI and lack of awareness about scientific breeding practices, missing heat, Poor results of AI, High Incidence of repeat breeding in cross bred cows, inability to get their animals to the A.I. centers due to high cost and labour involvement and Non availability of breeding bulls of improved breeds locally. Farmers are slowly becoming aware of worth of their labour and time. So farmers started demanding the essential production services at their doorstep which can very well thought over by policy makers to make these services more accessible with subsidized cost recovery approach in stipulated time frame. Lack of awareness, missing heat and poor results of AI are the other rated constraints which can be overcome by improving overall efficiency of staff and AI technicians and also by organizing extension educational activities to create awareness among the dairy farmers about scientific breeding practices and their importance in improving the overall dairy production. Further, providing incentives to AI workers and staff for achieving more targets with better conception rate can be thought over by various service delivery agencies. Constraints related to animal health care are like inadequate knowledge on diseases of cattle and their control as most important constraint followed by high cost of veterinary medicines, inadequate supply of quality medicines to veterinary institutions, inaccessibility of veterinarians due to more span of control, inadequate laboratory facilities and distant location of veterinary institutions. Poor acceptance rate by the small farmers for majority of the technologies was attributed to the lack of extension facilities, unavailability of inputs and the time and labour involved under small farm situations. This might be because of more emphasis on sick animal treatment by state animal husbandry department. This clearly indicates the need to accelerate the efforts in delivering extension services such as creating awareness among the dairy farmers. Further provision of adequate quality medicines and other infrastructure along with recruitment of required technical staff can help to overcome such constraints.
Economics of Dairy Farming
Dairy farming in India is part of a integrated farming system characterised by crop– livestock interactions (Singh 2004; Kumar and van Dam 2013). The by-products from several of the crops (crop residues, hay and straw) are used as input for dairy production, in addition to other inputs for which they have to directly incur costs (cattle feed, veterinary medicines, and artificial insemination). Animal dung and urine are used as inputs (biofertilizers and biopesticides) by farmers for improving soil fertility. To arrive at the economics of livestock farming, it is important to have realistic estimates of the cost of producing biofertilizers and the economic value of biopesticides. Under intensive dairy farming, milk yield and revenue are high, but the input costs are also high as farmers have to grow green fodder, use expensive cattle feed to increase the milk yield.. In traditional dairy farming milk yield and revenue are low, but the input costs are also low, with animals grazing in the wild and farmers depending on natural grasses and crop residues as fodder for animals, using small amounts of cattle feed. Family members perform the domestic labour for animal rearing. This could be due to the unique situation with respect to land and biomass availability. While the arable land availability is low, biomass is available round the year. The opportunity cost and the direct cost of using these inputs for dairy farming are negligible (Kumar and Singh 2008). The low land availability also creates surplus family labour that can be gainfully employed for animal rearing; for this the market value of labour should not be considered. A sizeable portion of total produce was retained by the dairy farmers 37% in Bihar, 27% in West Bengal, and 21% in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi (northern region in the study). Higher the amount of milk production per capita, lower the proportion of milk used domestically as found in states such as Gujarat and Punjab. This means that for traditional dairy farming by smallholders, it is all the more important to get the real economic value of the milk consumed by the household, and the actual economic cost of all inputs, including labour.
Precision dairy farming
Precision dairy farming means “ the use of information technologies for assessment of fine scale animal and physical resource variability aimed at improved management strategies for optimizing economic, social, and environmental farm performance” (Eastwood et al., 2004) with objectives of Maximizing individual animal potential, Detecting diseases earlier and minimizing the use of medication through preventive health measures (Schulze et al., 2007). A precision dairy farming technology allows dairy producers to make more timely and informed decisions, resulting in better productivity and profitability. The list of precision dairy farming technologies used for animal status monitoring and management continues to grow. Because of rapid development of new technologies and supporting applications, precision dairy farming technologies are increasingly more feasible. Many precision dairy farming technologies already being utilized by dairy producers are: Electronic (radio frequency) identification systems and associated management software, Automatic body condition scoring, Automatic recording devices (rumen temperature, pressure, pH) by electronic rumen bolus, Robotic milking systems – daily milk yield recording, milk component monitoring (such as fat, protein), daily body weight gain measurement, Robotic calf feeding systems, Pedometers for heat detection, for health monitoring i.e. measuring lying time and standing bouts, milk analyzer, parturition sensors, milk conductivity indicators. Benefits of precision dairy farming technologies include increased efficiency, through large-scale mechanization and economics of scale, reduced costs, improved quality and food safety through better animal identification and traceability, minimized environmental impacts, improved animal health and well-being through improved health monitoring and individual care. It gives more timely and informed decision.
Future strategies
More food is required to meet the growing needs of the world. The high investment intensity will need to go into dairy farming and it will be necessary to increase the productivity of the animals as well as increase the farm size to make it viable for the farmer and also change the state of mind to make dairying as a profession of subsistence.
Increase milk production
Bestowed with the highest bovine population in the world, India exhibits tremendous potential to further strengthen its position in the world dairy market. Livestock in general and dairying in particular plays a vital role in the in the national economy and also in the socio-economic development of millions of rural households. Livestock can significantly contribute to pathways out of poverty, since demand for livestock products will increase substantially in the years to come. According to one projection, the demand for milk production in India will be more than double until 2020 (Delago et al, 1999).
Employment generation at rural level
Dairy sector is the major source of income for an estimated 27.6 million people (Naidu and Kondaiah, 2004). Among these, 65 to 70% are small, marginal and land-less farmers. Thus, the dairy sector is regarded by many as one of the most pro-poor sectors with any positive development translating into increased income and employment to millions across the country.
Public private partnerships
With the advent of better technology and penetration of organized retail into the Indian markets, the dairy industry in India has been able to bring in the ethnic as well as exotic product offerings to the markets. Transforming public private partnerships (PPPs) in the Indian dairy sector may serve as a major step towards the growth and prosperity of people to grass root levels and economy of India on the whole.
Promoting export of A2 Milk
The DAHD has been advised the dairy industry to market A2 milk separately, because all indigenous breeds of cows and buffaloes produce milk that contains A2 protein while exotic breeds of cattle and buffalo produce milk with A1 casein. With the help of enzymes A1 casein can be cleaved to release an amino acid called BCM-7. BCM-7 (Beta Casomorphin-7) may trigger a host of diseases: diabetes, heart disease, autism, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease etc. Therefore, it is considered that for the benefit of consumers and the farmers rearing indigenous cattle, the organized sector should take initiative to market A2 milk. international market A2 milk fatches good prices so ultimately our farmers are benefited .
Breeding Management and introduction of genomic selection for Increasing Productivity
India has a very large population of cattle and buffaloes with average milk yield per annum per milch cattle being 917 kg. There is need to reduce the population size and improve productivity. Nearly 80 percent of breedable female stock is not bred properly. There is shortage of facilities to produce good quality semen and artificial insemination for breeding indigenous animals and crossbreeding. It is estimated that for the breedable population of cattle and buffaloes, India needs 66,000 proven bulls (Khanna, 2016). Breeding of dairy cattle has travelled a long way from initial days of daughter-dam comparisons to recent advances in genomic selection. A brief historical perspective of employing molecular information for selection of dairy animals beginning from genetic markers to marker assisted selection to whole genome selection procedures. The need for introduction of whole genomic selection procedures and a proposed road map for their introduction to achieve higher genetic progress in the indigenous cattle and buffalo populations in the country With the development of scientific knowledge, it will be possible to modify the existing breeding programmes and achieve higher genetic gains. The successful implementation of genomic selection will increase the genetic gain maximum by 50% through reducing generation interval both on sire to sire and sire to dam paths, increasing accuracy of breeding value of sires and dams and increasing selection intensity by increasing candidates to be selected,
Nutrition management for increasing productivity
In India, the livestock feed resources are inadequate in quality and quantity. The land under permanent pastures and grasslands is about 3.6 percent of the geographical area and the fodder cultivation is limited to 4.86 percent of the cultivable land. Production of quality seeds for fodder varieties is a prime need. The role of the feed industry is vital to maintain feed supply to intensive dairy farms. Against an annual requirement of over 120 MMT of feed, facilities exist for about 8 MMT (Khanna, 2016). Opportunities exist for installation of plants to manufacture cattle feeds, mineral mixture, total mixed rations, bypass protein and bypass fat feeds.
Sexed Semen Technology
India is unique in its appreciation of the cow culturally with less than 40% of India’s cows productive. Cow is considered sacred and slaughter is illegal. This coupled with high milk demand renders the male calf not productive and thus non-required and are often castrated early in life and mostly left unattended. Progressive farmers are widely using ABS sexed semen, ensuring over 90% female progenies, resulting in more heifers and less male calves which does not have much value in the market Adaptation of such advance technology like genomic selection, use of sexed semen with improved AI practices at ground level which ultimately help to set new benchmark in overall indian milk productivity as well as increase individual animal productivity and in future indian dairy industry will reach new horizon A number of suggestions to the future development of India’s dairy industry also have been proposed by Karmakar & Banerjee (2006).
Production Cost Reduction:
In order to increase the competitiveness of Indian dairy industry, efforts should be made to reduce cost of production. This can be achieved through increasing productivity of animals, improve animal health care and breeding facilities and management of dairy animals. The Government and dairy industry will need to play a vital role in this direction.
Strategy and Infrastructure Development:
Indian dairy industry should further develop proper dairy production, processing and marketing infrastructure, which is capable of meeting international quality requirements. A comprehensive strategy for producing quality and safe dairy products should also be formulated with suitable legal backup.
Focus on Specialty Products:
Dairy industry in India is unique with regard to the availability of buffalo milk. In this case, India can focus on buffalo milk based specialty products, such as Mozzarella cheese, in order to meet the needs of the target consumers. In conclusion india’s dairy sector is unique. There is consistent increase in milk production, consistent expansion of the consumer market. Organized sector processes a marginal 20 percent of milk produced and has wide options. India mostly remained traditional in their approach to dairy farming activities, which is mainly due to their social, economical and ecological compulsions. Livestock plays a central role in the natural resource based livelihood for the vast majority of the population, which is mostly confined to rural areas. The fourfold increase in milk production between 1963 and 2003, with more than half of the milk being produced by buffaloes, was largely due to integrated interventions involving the synergistic action from the government, researchers, non-governmental organizations and farmers.
Challenges of the Diary sector in India
Shortage of feed/fodder
When it comes to using the grain and fodder that are readily available, there are too many inefficient animals competing with profitable dairy animals.
The amount of grazing land is being drastically reduced each year as a result of industrial growth, which causes a shortage of feeds and fodder to meet demand.
Dairy sector animals’ performance is hampered by the widening feed and fodder supply-demand mismatch.
Additionally, providing dairy cattle with the feed of inadequate quality limits the system for animal production.
The small and marginal farmers, as well as the agricultural laborers working on the growth of the dairy sector, have limited financial resources, which leads to inadequate nutrition.
Mineral deficiency disorders are caused by a mineral mixture that is not supplemented. High-cost feeding lowers the dairy sector revenues.
Hygiene Conditions
Many cattle owners neglect to give their animals the required protection, leaving them vulnerable to harsh weather conditions.
Mastitis is brought on by the unhygienic environment in the milking parlors and cattle sheds.
Milk and other products lose quality while stored and deteriorate due to unhygienic milk manufacturing.
Health
Facilities for veterinary treatment are scattered throughout remote areas. Because of the larger ratio between the population of cattle and veterinary hospitals, animals receive insufficient health care.
An excessive amount of mortality occurs in calves, especially in buffalo, as a result of the lack of a regular and periodic immunization schedule and a regular deworming program that is not carried out according to plan.
There is not a sufficient level of protection against many cow illnesses.
Education and Training
The production of safe dairy sector products could be achieved through intensive education and training programs on excellent dairy practices, but for this to happen, they must be participatory.
For all of the employees to grasp what they are doing and feel a sense of ownership, education, and training are crucial in this regard.
However, creating and putting such initiatives into action in the dairy sector calls for a strong commitment from the management, which can be a roadblock at times.
Fragmented Supply Chain
Maintaining quality and quantity within a diverse supply base is the primary difficulty in the dairy sector.
Dairy sector requires more intricate supply chain operations and logistics due to its perishable nature to maintain freshness and safety.
Poor returns
There is no MSP (Minimum Support Price) for milk unlike 24 major agricultural commodities in the country including wheat and rice.
Further, dairy sector cooperatives are not a preferred choice for landless or small farmers.
The cooperatives adopt a fat-based pricing policy which is 20 to 30% less than the price in the open market.
Dairy Sector: Government Initiatives
Rashtriya Gokul Mission
It was started in December 2014 to improve the genetics of the nondescript bovine population and develop and conserve indigenous breeds through selective breeding in the breeding tract.
The scheme comprises two components namely National Program for Bovine Breeding (NPBB) and National Mission on Bovine Productivity (NMBP).
The scheme aims for the development and conservation of indigenous breeds, enhancing milk production and productivity of bovine population.
Increase the number of disease-free, high genetic merit females and stop the spread of diseases. Distribute disease-free, high genetic merit bulls for natural service. Arrange for quality artificial insemination (AI) services to be provided at farmers’ doorsteps.
Gokul Gram
The Rashtriya Gokul Mission also plans to build integrated cattle development centres called “Gokul Grams” to promote indigenous breeds, up to 40% of which will be unique breeds.
Pashu Sanjivni
An animal wellness program that includes the issuance of Animal Health Cards (also known as “Nakul Swasthya Patra”), UID identification, and the uploading of information to a national database.
Advanced Reproductive Technology
To increase the supply of disease-free female cattle, assisted reproductive techniques such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF), multiple ovulation embryo transfers (MOET), and sex sorting of semen should be used.
Impact of Lumpy skin disease on milk production in FY 23
Highly prevalent Lumpy Skin in cattles is another factor that impacted the milk production in the current financial year. The disease was prevalent among cows in northern states.
The impact of the disease was brought down with the help of a successful immunisation programme. Even though Icra expects a slight impact in milk production growth to 4-5 per cent in FY23.
“Raw milk procurement prices increased in FY22, led by healthy demand and constricted milk availability as a result of disruption in cattle insemination programmes earlier during the pandemic. Raw milk prices have continued to rise in the current fiscal too, owing to rising cattle feed and fodder prices for dairy farmers,” Icra Sector Head and Vice President Sheetal Sharad said.
She also mentioned the rise in logistics, processing and packaging costs as other factors that will impact milk supply.
“Given the healthy demand expectations over the festive and wedding seasons, we anticipate raw milk prices to stay firm in H2 FY23 as opposed to a typical correction in the flush season. Retail prices for dairy products have thus gone up in the current fiscal to make up for higher costs,” she added.
The earnings from value-added products (VADPs) will experience a healthy YoY growth of 18-20 per cent in FY22, stated the report. Scorching summer, relatively high temperatures, and the waning impact of pandemic spurted the growth.
Revenue from the liquid milk segment to expand, high input cost still a challenge
The liquid milk segment will also grow in the current year. However, the industry may face the challenge of rising input costs. Revenues in the liquid milk segment are predicted to grow by 7-9 per cent in FY2.
Sheetal Sharad believes that increased input costs for dairy companies will pose a challenge to boost growth. That’s why consumers might face more retail price hikes in the coming time.
She also stated that the year may see a moderation in the credit metrics for dairy companies due to margin pressures.Along with this, regular raw milk supply with LSD under control will also help in moderation.
As most of the company will be focusing on VADP capacity expansion, ICRA has predicted a moderate growth in capex.
Way forward
For the development of the dairy sector, cooperative banks and other national banks should step up and offer generous loan facilities to farmers, especially small and marginal farmers.
Creating a veterinarian service facility will increase the effectiveness of the artificial insemination program. Additionally, affordable veterinary services must be delivered right to farmers’ doors regularly.
To meet the needs of the village’s livestock population and to entice the farmer to engage in fodder farming on a commercial scale, the changing cropping pattern should generate an adequate amount of green and dry fodder.
Attempts should also be made to improve the quality and increase the quality of manufactured feed in the cooperative sector so that quality feed can be supplied at reasonable prices. The dairy sector farmer will receive assistance from subsidized credit for calf rearing and feeding the cattle during dry seasons, notably from the weakest groups in society. Primary cooperatives for milk procurement should be expanded to locations where the local market is unable to absorb the milk supply. Organizational support for milk producers through the cooperative sector should be streamlined.
Steps should be taken to reorganize and develop the rural market for milk.
Take essential steps to reduce the effect of a middleman because the middleman exploited the dairy sector farmers.
The governments have to give support to the dairy sector farmers by providing subsidies, proper prices, and market facilities.The necessary assistance for the producers to reach value-added markets including ice cream, yogurt, cheese, and whey should be provided.These divisions display 20% profit margins, which is significantly greater than the 3-5% margin for straightforward milk products. A reliable market and a profitable price for the milk must be provided to the dairy sector farmers. The quantity of milk should be given more weight in determining price than the milk’s fat content.
Measures needed:
- Increase in the market share depends on how dairy firms’ capabilities and their resources are utilised given the opportunities and threats emanating from emerging markets economies.
- Contract/corporate dairying and emerging global dairy trade are required to rope in dairy supply chains stakeholders in order to expand their outreach and “on-the-go” product positioning into the target segment.
- Digital technology-enabled dairy firms need to identify their compatible partners and competitors for co-creation through product-process innovation via relationship/value-based marketing.
- Freshness in milk, and convenience to store milk or milk products can be a technology innovation brought in by large dairy firms in association start-ups.
- Education and Training at Panchayat level for small and medium size farmers
- Subsidizing cattle production and encouraging cattle markets
- Facility of logistics for produced milk
- Improved Veterinary facility specially in artificial insemination of cattle
- Encouraging private sector firm to procure dairy produced at rural level
- Low interest loans for small and medium scale farmers for cattle purchase
- Encouraging rural women to take up animal husbandry
- Insurance of cattle against diseases like Anthrax, Foot and Mouth, Peste des Ruminantes, etc.
- Nurture dairy entrepreneurs through effective training of youth at the village level coupled with dedicated leadership and professional management of farmers’ institutions.
DR CN SANT, DAIRY ADVISOR, PUNE.
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