India is the largest producer of milk in the world, with its dairy sector being a source of livelihood for about 70 million households today. Operation Flood, introduced by the Government in 1970 and lasting till 1996, is the major reason for this success. Adopted with an intense focus on dairy development activities, it allowed India to transform from a country of acute shortage to one of the world's leading producers of milk. This allowed small villages to link to urban markets through village cooperative networks, thus creating an expanded network for procuring and supplying milk and milk products. Another prominent feature of this sector is the important role that small producers have to play in it. Small and marginal farmers are the direct owners of 60% of female cattle and buffaloes, with 75% of rural households owning 2-4 animals. Dairying has become a part of the farming system, and this co-existence has contributed to its success. It also ensures a regular flow of income, with livestock being essential security for farmers when faced with crises.
Various factors affect the productiveness of the dairy sector some of which have been described below:
Increase in product demand owing to more consumers and a health-conscious mindset growing.
Market structure becoming more liberalized, with approximately 70% of channels being informal.
Various factors like quality of animals, technical knowledge, and human resources.
The amount of support they receive from the Government and other supporting authorities.
Primary processing and processing capacity.
Even throughout the Corona pandemic, when the dairy sector has been severely affected all around the world, the giant cooperative network in India has remained relatively functional. The pandemic decreased milk consumption in the country by about 25%, although this has been attributed to commercial avenues and not the domestic ones. Dairy cooperatives like Amul, Mother Dairy, and others took extra efforts to ensure the continued and unbroken supply of milk to both the general public as well as dairy farmers all over the country. While some achieved this by obtaining greater milk produce from farmers, others utilized the extra milk to produce skimmed milk powder in milk plants. In a surprising turn of events, its production doubled in the first one and a half months of lockdown. Dilip Rath, the Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), promised to protect the interests of dairy farmers diligently during this lockdown. He also stated that the surplus milk powder could be used when the demand surged again with the country’s recovery from COVID-19. Although supply chains were broken in many parts of India in the initial phase of the lockdown, with inter-state boundaries closed off, milk plants throughout the country ran at 92 to 100% of their capacity. Even when the industry faced a major dent, the cooperatives decided to stand with the farmers in India, unlike those in first-world nations who forced them to dump their produce. Around 508 lakh kilograms of milk are procured by the corporates every day, with 16.9 million farmers involved in village cooperatives. It is quite a challenge for the sector to function satisfactorily, with surplus milk being supplied and decreased avenues for their sale. Punjab has the largest per capita milk availability in India, along with a contribution of 6.7% to the national produce. Even with one of the strongest networks of farmers, given the 32% increase in milk supply at the beginning of the lockdown, which would have only increased further, dairy farmers are finding it difficult to sell their products. 14 lakh households out of 32 in the state are concerned with rearing cattle. Thus, although this sector is receiving a considerable amount of support, several measures can be undertaken for its security at the end of the pandemic. The following are a few of them:
Producers should be given some sort of compensation on a per quantity basis of the amount of milk they could not sell. Farmers are simply not equipped with the resources to bear these losses on their own.
The demand for milk and milk products is likely to reach a high once the country opens its interstate and international borders again. Thus, given the amount of skimmed milk powder produced and packaged during this lockdown, there should be a shift to promoting that along with fresh milk to ensure that it does not go to waste.
Prices will most probably reach historic heights owing to the reduction in sales during the pandemic. However, the respective authorities should also keep in mind how every single citizen is affected by this recession, and take care that it does not affect anyone drastically.
The network of produce and sale should be strengthened and opened up even more, with more rural farmers given access to urban markets and supply chains.
Under no circumstances should the production of milk be halted.
Technological advances which can increase the yield of milk products should be adopted by the dairy industry in India. Having one of the largest milk exports in the world, we cannot hope to stay in the competition if we do not move ahead from tradition.
There are very high chances that they need to store milk and its products will also rise, and thus proper methods of preservation should be adopted. Milk products that can be preserved should be promoted.
Keywords: Dairy sector, Operation Flood, Dilip Rath, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), COVID-19, the largest producer of milk, Dairying, Farming system, Dairy cooperatives, Government support, world's leading producer, Amul, Mother Dairy, STF.
Comments