India's estimated milk demand to be about 155 mn tonnes by 2016-17: NDDB chairman

Says need to increase the annual incremental milk production from 4 million tonnes per year to 7.8 million tonnes

India’s estimated demand for milk is likely to be about 155 million tonnes by 2016-17 and around 200 million tonnes in 2021-22, said chairman of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) at the two-day seminar-cum-workshop on ‘Convergence of Productivity Enhancement Activities to Meet Future Demand of Milk and Milk Products’.

“The country’s estimated demand for milk is likely to be about 155 million tonnes by 2016-17 and around 200 million tonnes in 2021-22. To meet the growing demand, there is a need to increase the annual incremental milk production from 4 million tonnes per year in past 10 years to 7.8 million tonnes in the next 8 years (210 million by 2021-22),” said, T Nanda Kumar, chairman, NDDB, in his inaugural address.

The workshop, organised by NDDB at its headquarters in Anand in Central Gujarat, concluded on Tuesday.

Emphasizing on the need to maximize the genetic potential of bovines, Kumar said, “It is an established scientific fact that the genetic potential of bovines can be optimally harvested, provided that breeding, feeding, scientific dairying practices and health management are adopted on a large scale, by all the stakeholders. Concerned milk procurement and processing infrastructure also need to be strengthened to link milk producers with the market while ensuring quality through cold chain. All these initiatives need to be scaled up so that a large number of milk producers are covered.”

Kumar said, “NDDB’s National Dairy Plan-I (NDP) is a scientifically planned multi-state initiative to increase the productivity of milch animals and thereby increase milk production to meet the rapidly growing demand for milk.”

NDP-I, he said, is focussing on 14 major milk producing states, which accounts for more than 90 per cent of the country’s milk production, over 87 per cent of the breedable cattle and buffalo population and 98 per cent of the country’s fodder resources, adding that, the benefits of the plan will be across the country.

Stating that NDDB was always there to serve the dairy farmers, Kumar, while addressing the participants in the concluding session, said, “In absence of accelerated growth and better business performance, millions of dairy farmers will be left out of the cooperative domain. Only true professionalism, transparency in governance and management will give our farmers their rightful and deserved place in our agricultural economy.”

The workshop was attended by state secretaries, directors of animal husbandry, managing directors of state milk federations and other state representatives from the major dairying states, who deliberated on relevant issues related to productivity enhancement and health management to develop state specific action plans.