NDDB playing a leading role in implementation of National Dairy Plan: Radha Mohan Singh

Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Radha Mohan Singh has said that the National Dairy Plan (NDP) aims to increase the productivity of milch animals that will lead to increase in milk production for meeting the growing demand for milk.

Speaking at a function at NDDB (National Dairy Development Board) Anand in Gujarat, Singh said that the productivity of milch animals was increasing through artificial insemination using high-quality semen taken from high genetic bulls and by proving balanced food to the animals of the farmers. To promote a balanced diet for the effective use of input, NDDP initiatives are helping farmers to increase production by lowering dietary (ration) costs.

According to an official statement, the minister said that the country has been the world's largest producer of milk for the last two decades and its credit goes to the farmers of the country. As more than two-thirds of our nation's citizens live in rural areas, there is a need to make the farmers more prosperous, for which the dairy sector is important.

He said that the NDDB had implemented several major dairy development programmes including 'Operation Flood' from its inception in the country. India is at number one in milk production and contributes 19 per cent of the world's total milk production.

Dairy farmers' income has increased by 13.79 per cent from 2014-17 compared to the year-ago period. Milk production, which was 155.49 million tonnes during 2015-16, is set to be increased to 200 million tonnes in 2019-20.

Presently, NDDB is in the leading role for the implementation of the National Dairy Plan and the recently announced Dairy Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF). The central government has established the DIDF at a cost of Rs 10,881 crore for the period from 2017-18 to 2028-29.

The purpose of the DIDF is to establish an effective mechanism for creating a basic structure for milk cooling at the village level and installing electronic equipment for milk adulteration, manufacturing, modernisation, processing facilities and for procuring milk. Educational institutes would set up for value-added products for milk unions' and milk producers' companies.

The purpose of NDP-1 is to help in increasing the productivity of milch animals and thereby increase the milk production to meet the growing demand of milk and to provide more assistance to rural milk producers for more market access, including the organised milk processing sector.

During the year 2015-16, NDP-1 has been expanded into four states (Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Telangana and Uttarakhand) and its implementation period has been extended to 2018-19.

Singh said that on the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement and under the 'Sankalp se Siddhi Mission', the central government had set a target to double the income of farmers by 2022. For this, recently, a seven-point strategy had been unveiled. Ministry of Agriculture is working in this direction through various schemes in the dairy sector.

The minister said that his experience indicates that producer-centric institutions are very important for dairy development. The selection of Dairy Excellence Awards has been done fairly and the producer-centric institution, which has achieved excellence in operation, administration and inclusion, has been honoured with Dairy Excellence Award.

He said the winners would be encouraged to maintain their performance. It is expected that by learning from these role models, others will be motivated to achieve excellence.