November 25, 2014
India plans 42 dairy projects to boost milk output
The National Dairy Development Board of India has announced 42 dairy projects with a financial outlay of US$35.36 million, to boost milk yield and national output.
These projects will be spread across 14 major milk producing states: Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Kerala, which make up 90% of the country''s milk production.
The projects were sanctioned under the National Dairy Plan-I, which was launched during March 2012 for implementation during 2011-12 to 2016-17.
The projects will help increase the productivity of milch animals and meet the rapidly growing demand for milk. It will also provide milk producers in rural areas with greater access to the organised milk-processing sector.
With an annual output of 130 million tonnes, India is the largest producer of the milk in the world. It also has the largest milk-producing animal population of over 118 million. However, milk yields per animal are among the lowest in the world.
Compared with 18 kg of milk per day per animal in the European Union and about 27 kg per day per animal in the United States, native Indian cows produce just about 2.36 kg of milk in a day. The average milk yield of crossbred and exotic cows is slightly over 7 kg and for buffaloes, 4.8 kg.
Milk productivity per animal in India is low due to poor feeding practices and a lack of focus on breed improvement. The newly announced projects will address these concerns through activities like fodder development, ration balancing in feed management, village-based milk procurement, embryo transfer and import of bulls.