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The Vice President of India, Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat inaugurated the 33rd Annual All India Dairy Industry Conference and Exhibition, here today. The theme of the Conference was, “Indian Dairy, Vision – 2020, Towards Excellence”. Delivering his inaugural address, Shri Shekhawat said that the growth and development of the dairy industry in our country since independence is a success story that makes us so very proud. The year of celebrations of 50 years of our independence also saw India achieving the landmark of becoming the highest milk producer in the world. Besides the tremendous growth in milk production in processing, in value addition and marketing; there has also been quantum jump in the dairy machinery manufacturing, ancillaries and packaging industries. From being primarily import-dependent, the dairy sector has now acquired the exporting status.
Shri Shekhawat said that the dairy sector provides us immense opportunities for eradicating poverty. We need to make dairy development, an area of core competence in the national programme of poverty eradication and rural prosperity. For success of dairy industry, we need to accord due attention on cattle development. The diminishing population of good cattle due to droughts in many parts of the country has been a cause of concern. We need to concentrate on the development of our own ethnic cattle breeds like “Rathi, Tharparkar” that give high milk yields as also provide sturdy bullocks for agricultural operations. We need big qualitative improvement right from primary production-point to the marketing-end with our output conforming to the best of international standards of quality and reliability. We should fast overcome all the deficiencies that have been the cause of sub-optimal growth momentum of the dairy sector so far.
The Vice President suggested that let us introspect if have done enough to achieve our full potential. We are the highest milk producer in the world but our per capita availability of milk is only 210 grams. Our per capita consumption of milk is below the world average of 285 gm per day; it is also less than the minimum nutritional requirement of 280 gm per day recommended by ICMR. The low availability of milk is the main cause of adulterated or synthetic milk finding its way in the market. The share of organized sector in collecting milk is just around 10-12 per cent of the milk produce in the country. The dairy industry in our country has still miles to go in becoming fully organized.
Referring to the involvement of women in the dairy sector, Shri Shekhawat said that the vast majority of our rural women are involved in several related areas of dairying, right from feeding to breeding, and healthcare to marketing. Growth and development of this sector will, therefore, be a major source of economic empowerment of women in rural areas.
Shri Shekhawat said that during 1977, when he was the Chief Minister of Rajasthan for the first time, a pioneering initiative called the “Antyodaya Programme” for poverty alleviation was launched in Rajasthan under which five poorest families in every village were taken up in a year for their economic empowerment. Dairying was identified as one of the key activities for the economic empowerment of these Antyodaya Families. Under the innovative “Gopal Yojna”, the unemployed educated youth were trained in veterinary first aid an artificial insemination to shorten the long dry period of cows and to provide animal health and breeding services in the rural areas at reasonable charges. Such steps are essential to make keeping cows a viable and attractive economic activity for the farmer.
Shri Shekhawat conferred the Kurien Award for the Year 2001-02 to Shri Sylvestor da Qunha, the creator of Amul ad campaign on this occasion.
Shri Subodh Kant Sahay, the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries (Independent Charge), Shri V. Kurien, Chairman, IRM Anand, Ms. Amrita Patel, Chairman NDDB and Shri Animesh Banerjee, President, IDA also addressed on the occasion.
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