India has become self-sufficient to meet the demand for dairy: Agriculture Minister

The Minister emphasized the role of technology for improvement in productivity and reduction in the cost of production.

The development of dairy sector is imperative for the prosperity of farmers. Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh, at the inauguration ceremony of the seminar “Role of Technology in Doubling Dairy Farmers’ Income” in Anand, Gujarat, today praised the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) for playing a crucial role in the implementation of National Dairy Plan (NDP) and Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF). Since the beginning, the NDDB has implemented several major dairy development programs including 'Operation Flood'. As a result, India has become self-sufficient to meet the demand for milk.

The Minister emphasized the role of technology for improvement in productivity and reduction in the cost of production. In the wake of this, under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission, for the production of more female animals, 10 semen centers have been identified for the production of Sex Sorted Semen. Proposal for two centers (Uttarakhand and Maharashtra) have also been approved. Also, 20 Embryo Transfer Technology (ETT) centers are being set up for the production of high genetic merit bulls of indigenous bovine breeds, of which proposal of 19 centers have been approved. Besides, INDUSCHIP has been developed for the genomic selection of indigenous breeds and 6000 dairy animals have been genetically evaluated using INDUSCHIP.

According to the Minister, indigenous breeds are being promoted to reduce risks in production. For improving the breed of milch cattle, especially indigenous breeds, 1831 bulls have been produced so far against the target of 2200. Similarly, 6500 MAITRIs have been trained and deployed at the village level to provide doorstep AI services. Apart from this, for the conservation of indigenous breeds, two National Kamdhenu Breeding Centres, one in Andhra Pradesh at Chintaladevi and other in Madhya Pradesh at Itarsi are being established under which 41 cow and buffalo breeds are being conserved. The center in AP has been completed and work is under progress at Itarsi, MP.

He also informed that the e-Pashuhaat portal is a landmark initiative, launched in 2016 in Animal Husbandry sector. It is playing an important role in connecting breeders and farmers. So far, the portal has information on 104570 animals, 8.32 crore semen doses and 364 embryos.  

(With inputs from PIB)