How does dairy help farmers to be self-dependent and ensures a sustainable economy?

 

India had come a long way from being a deficit in milk production to being an exporter of milk now. It was the vision of Verghese Kurien that the country, under Operation Flood, became not only self-sufficient in milk production but also exported it. There was a time before 1970 when the country used to import milk. It was now the largest producer of milk in the world. It was due to milk production that farmers were able to lead a dignified life in the country. The country must now usher in a new era of development for the dairy sector, by building procurement infrastructure in milk deficit states and adopting appropriate technology in these regions.

World Milk Day was established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on June 1, 2001, to recognize the importance of milk as a global food. This day provides an opportunity to know the importance and benefit of milk with regard to health and nutrition and the importance of the dairy sector in the global economy. This sector also plays an important role in achieving food security, reducing global poverty, generating employment opportunities for women, and providing a regular source of income for rural households. Moreover, in developing economies, landless and poor farmers are actively involved in dairying as an essential means of livelihood. According to the FAO 2018 report, more than 500 million impoverished people depend mainly on livestock, and many of them are small and marginal dairy farmers.

Additionally, dairy development helps in boosting rural economic growth and empowering rural women. Moreover, 160 million children around the world receive benefits from milk through school feeding programmes. Apart from being an important sector globally, dairying is equally important in developing economies like India, for providing nutrition support, reducing rural poverty, and inequity, ensuring food security for millions of rural households and enhancing economic growth, particularly in rural areas. In the 1950s and 1960s, India was a milk deficit country, depending mostly on imports. In 1965, the government of India established the National Dairy Development Board to direct India’s dairy sector development. In 1970, the government launched Operation Flood (OF), the world's largest dairy development programme, whose aim was to enhance milk production in the country.

By 1998, India overtook the US to become the largest milk producer in the world, and it contributed 22 per cent of the global milk production in 2018. Between 1991 and 2018, the per capita availability of milk increased from 178 (gm/day) to 394 (gm/day). During this period, milk production in India increased from 55.6 million tonnes to 187.7 million tonnes and grew at 4 per cent compounded annually. As per the NITI Aayog working group 2018 report, milk production in India will increase to around 330 million tonnes in 2032-33, and milk supply will exceed milk demand by 38 million tonnes in 2032-33. As per the National Action Plan on Dairy Development vision 2022 report, it is envisioned to increase milk procurement and processing through the setting up of village-level dairy infrastructure. Under this plan, organised milk handling is to be increased to 41 per cent by 2022 and to 50 per cent by 2023-24. Milk procurement by cooperatives will increase from 10 per cent in 2020 to 20 per cent in 2023, and milk procurement by the private sector will be increased from 10 per cent to 30 per cent in the same period.

The dairy sector is one of the crucial sectors in the Indian economy that not only provides employment to millions of rural households but also contributes to the economy. Among the livestock products, milk consists of the highest share, and it accounted for 67.2 per cent of the livestock sector in 2017. Moreover, there is an interesting note here that milk and milk products contributed more than 20.6 per cent of the combined output of paddy, wheat and pulses in 2017. Annually, 8.4 million farmers depend on the dairy sector for their livelihoods, out of which 71 per cent are women (Agriculture Skill Council of India). Furthermore, in a year, crop production employs the rural workforce for 90 to 120 days, but dairy provides alternative employment opportunities throughout the 365 days of the year.

 India is self-sufficient in milk production because 73 million dairy farmers are engaged in the dairy sector, especially women. Regarding benefits to the farmer, around 60 per cent of the consumer's price from milk goes to the farmer, which is the highest among major milk-producing countries (International Farm Comparison Network, Dairy Report, 2018). The data show that 10 States in India produce 81 per cent of the milk, and the rest of the States and Union Territories produce a balance of 19 per cent. Similarly, only nine States have achieved per capita availability of milk at par with the national level. The government needs to devise a suitable dairy development policy for enhancing milk production in potential districts and States. Therefore, dairy promotion among small and landless farmers is necessary to increase the availability of milk, and it will also help reduce nutrition-related problems in milk deficit regions of the country.

This lockdown has steadily established the role of technology in the agriculture and livestock sector — be it Ninjacart (tech-driven supply chain platform) which is linking thousands of producers directly with consumers or Amul which has increased both its milk procurement (15 per cent) and processing during the lockdown period. Technology has played a crucial role in converting these uncertain times into opportunities for growth. Thus apart from building milk procurement infrastructure in milk deficit States and districts, efforts should also be made for the penetration of appropriate technology in these regions.

Moreover, strengthening the cooperative milk business across these regions will help generate alternative employment opportunities, especially for women and economically disadvantaged communities. A flourishing dairy sector will help rural India become self-reliant and will also contribute to doubling farmers' income.

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