Corporate Chat
“Dairy sector provides 5 lakh jobs”

Dr Ram Chand

The expanding dairy industry, which provides thousands of direct and indirect jobs, needs more and more trained hands. Dr Ram Chand, Head of the Extension Division, NDRI, Karnal, outlines the future needs and prospects of this industry. Excerpts from an interview:

What is the present scenario in the Indian dairy sector?

The Indian dairy sector has made significant progress and ranks first in the world with an annual milk production of more than 90 million tonnes. There are more than 500 small and big dairy industries in the country and about half a million people have been provided direct or indirect jobs in this industry. Besides, the rural household economy is by and large dependent on dairying. There are more than 70 million dairy farmers in the country.

What is the share of India in the international milk and milk products market?

Although India has become the largest milk producer in the world, it has not made a dent in the international market because of serious quality constraints. The increasing competition from imports, consequent to the removal of quantitative restriction on most of the items, will force the domestic producers to improve their quality. The discerning consumers will become more demanding once the options before them are further widened due to the availability of imported dairy products. This calls for a policy support to encourage use of latest technology at the grassroots level for production of quality and clean milk and milk products to meet international standards.

What is the future scope for dairy farming and the dairy industry in the country?

A demand-driven growth is taking place in this sector in almost all developing nations. The government and industry need to prepare a long-term policy of matching investments that will satisfy consumer demand for animal foods, improve nutrition, income and opportunities for employment. For this, we need to improve the productivity of our livestock through scientific breeding, feeding, health protection and management. Technology support is imperative not only for enhancement of productivity and production but also for reduction of per unit cost.

Do we have sufficient technological inputs to meet these challenges?

As far as technology is concerned, India is no less than any developed nation but we still require thousands and thousands of trained professionals in veterinary sciences, animal biotechnology, genetics and other branches related to dairy and animal sciences. There is a large scope for generating employment in these sectors.

What about meeting the nutritional needs of the poor with regard to milk consumption?

Despite of the tremendous growth in agricultural and livestock production, we have not been able to provide food and nutritional security to the poor as the production level still falls short of the minimum recommended per capita requirement of 240 grams per day with the current per capita availability hovering around 220 grams.

— Kulwinder Sandhu