Govt asks states to give milk via schemes like Midday Meal

Aiming to double farmers income by 2022, the government today said it has directed cooperatives to increase their share of milk procurement from farmers and asked states to boost consumption by distributing it under various schemes like Midday Meal.
The food ministry has also been requested to consider inclusion of milk under the Public Distribution System (PDS), an official statement said.
"This will increase the consumption of milk and subsequently better returns to dairy farmers even in flush season as well," the agriculture ministry said in a statement.
The milk cooperatives have also been advised to set a target of 2 per cent share in the World Trade by 2020. National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has been asked to prepare an action plan in coordination with the states to achieve the export target, it added.

The government has set a target of 255 million tonnes of milk production by 2022 so as to double the farmers' income.
"The total share of milk procurement by cooperatives is to be increased from existing 10 per cent to 20 per cent of milk production by 2022. This will ensure better returns to dairy farmers," the ministry said.

In a recent meeting, the ministry has asked major cooperatives such as Amul in Gujarat, Nandini in Karnataka, Sudha in Bihar, Vita in Haryana, Verka in Punjab, PCDF-Parag in Uttar Pradesh to ensure that the milk is purchased from farmers without discrimination.

Cooperatives' milk procurement rose by 20.4 per cent during November 2017 from over the year-ago period. The procurement rate of milk was higher by 4.7 per cent.
The agriculture ministry said that the country has a stock of Skimmed Milk Powder (SMP) of 1.16 lakh tonnes due to higher conversion and expected to increase to 2 lakh tonnes by the end of March 2018.
About Rs 10,881 crore of financial assistance is being provided under Dairy Processing Infrastructure Fund (DIDF) to Milk Federations/Unions for the purpose. The states and cooperatives have been asked prepare plans accordingly, the statement added.