Bright Future For White Revolution

INDIA - Amul's real strength lies in the network of its 2.5 million milk farmers organized through 12,000 cooperative societies in the villages of Gujarat.
calendar icon 23 July 2007
clock icon 2 minute read
Faced with increasing suicides by indebted and desperate farmers in various parts of India, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has launched an ambitious Rs 10,000 million National Milk Scheme. To provide farmers with sustained income to tide over the difficult times marked by recurring droughts and occasional crop failure.

In fact, the white revolution in India became a reality after farmers' cooperatives were floated by the Anand-based National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in 1960s. Thanks to the vision and endeavours of V Kurien, who as the head of the NDDB gave an impetus to the dairy revolution in the country, that was instrumental in transforming India into the numero uno milk producer in the world.

Today, NABARD will join hands with NDDB for implementing its milk plan in 326 districts spread across the country. Notwithstanding, the steady increase in milk production in the country, there is still a huge potential for boosting milk production as the per capita milk consumption of milk and dairy products is dismally poor compared to global standards. Moreover, dairy products offer a huge export potential.

Together both NABARD and NDDB will support a range of activities at the field level with a focus on milk production, its handling, processing and marketing of dairy products in all the 326 selected districts of the country. With the demand for milk expected to touch around 172-million tonnes in 2021-22. Plainly, to meet this huge demand, milk production would need to be boosted by 4 per cent per year. Meanwhile, a feeling is gaining ground that as there is a daily income in milk, wherever the farming community has taken to dairying as a secondary occupation, suicides have not been reported. Clearly, the NABARD sponsored milk scheme supported by NDDB seeks to increase milk productivity and optimize the cost of production by providing institutional credit to support quality breeding of the milch animals.

Source: Central Chronicle
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