Dairy decline

Milk farmers need support to deal with demand slump

Milk farmers of Maharashtra and other states, who have been agitating for higher prices for their produce, are turning restive as their woes continue to worsen for want of remedial action. The kind of help that the crop cultivators are receiving from the government to sail through the Covid-19 crisis has not been forthcoming for dairy farmers. What is being disregarded is the fact that milk is the country’s largest food product in terms of both output and value, far ahead of rice or wheat. Besides, it supports the livelihood of 80 million landless, small and marginal farmers who rely