{"id":109303,"date":"2021-05-29T10:32:41","date_gmt":"2021-05-29T05:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=109303"},"modified":"2021-05-31T13:31:11","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T08:01:11","slug":"dairy-sector-in-india-needs-urgent-attention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/dairy-sector-in-india-needs-urgent-attention\/","title":{"rendered":"Dairy Sector in India Needs Urgent Attention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h5><b>Synopsis<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The second wave of pandemic has brutally impacted the dairy sector. There is a reduction in milk demand along with a shortage of livestock feed. The situation is very grim and requires the adoption of robust measures to support the dairy sector.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b>Background<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the first wave, agriculture and allied sectors put up a spectacular performance. It showed an annual growth of <\/span><b>3.4 % <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">while the economy contracted by<\/span><b> (-)7.2 %<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in 2020-21.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, this good performance was not replicated by the dairy sector in the second wave.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><b>About the dairy and livestock sector:<\/b><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In India, around 70 million farm-dependent people are engaged in the dairy and livestock sector.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Further, 7.7 million people are exclusively engaged in the sector. Amongst them, 69% are female which means the sector is a crucial source of women empowerment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The labour force of the sector mainly comprises unpaid female members.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the <a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/gross-value-addition-gva\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gross Value Added<\/a> (GVA) from agriculture, the livestock sector contributed 28 percent in 2019-20. Further, India witnesses a 6% growth rate in milk production every year.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Farmers keep 2-5 milk animals for livelihood which provides great support to them, especially during drought and flood.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><b>Challenges faced by the dairy Sector:<\/b><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Price Sensitivity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Milk producers are highly susceptible to even minor shocks.\u00a0 For instance, small changes in the employment and income of consumers can leave a significant impact on milk demand.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Unorganised Nature<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The majority of cattle raisers are unorganised unlike sugarcane, wheat, and rice-producing farmers. This nature further inhibits the creation of political clout to advocate for their rights.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Data Deficiency:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> There is no official and periodical estimate of the cost of milk production. Even though the value of milk produced outweighs the combined value of the output of wheat and rice in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Poor returns<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: There is no MSP (Minimum Support Price) for milk unlike 24 major agricultural commodities in the country including wheat and rice. Further dairy cooperatives are not a preferred choice for landless or small farmers.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The cooperatives adopt a fat-based pricing policy. It is 20 to 30 % less than the price in the open market.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Further, more than 75 % of the milk bought by dairy cooperatives is at its lower price band.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><b>Adverse impact of Pandemic on the Dairy Sector:<\/b><\/h5>\n<ol>\n<li><b>First, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the threat of disease has restrained the door-to-door sale of liquid milk to households. This has forced the farmers to sell the entire produce to dairy cooperatives at a much lower price.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Second<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the lockdown had led to the closure of shops. This has reduced the demand for milk and milk products.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Third<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the severe shortage of fodder and cattle feed has pushed up the input cost.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Fourth<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, private veterinary services have almost stopped due to Covid-19. This has led to the death of milch animals.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h5><b>Steps taken by Government for the Dairy Sector<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government has launched a<\/span><b> Nationwide AI (artificial insemination) program<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It targets to augment annual milk productivity from 1,860 kg\/per animal to 3,000 kg\/per animal upon its completion.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>dairy farmers have been included in the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) program<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It provides adequate and timely credit support from the banking system to the farmers for their cultivation and other needs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, <\/span><b>dairying was brought under <a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/mgnrega-issues-and-significance-explained-pointwise\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MGNREGA <\/a><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to compensate farmers for the income loss due to Covid-19.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><b>Concerns associated with the above steps:<\/b><\/h5>\n<ol>\n<li><b>First, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">there is a shortage of AI technicians in India. In August 2020, the department of animal husbandry reported a requirement of 2.02 lakh technicians. This is when only 1.16 lakh were available.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Second<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the dairy cooperatives have not applied for a sufficient number of loans under KCC. As of October 2020, not even one-fourth of the dairy farmers\u2019 loan applications had been forwarded to banks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Third<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the MGNREGA scheme may not be able to provide relief as its budgetary allocation has been curtailed. The budgetary allocation for 2021-22 was curtailed by <\/span><b>34.5 percent <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in relation to the revised estimates for 2020-21.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h5><b>Way Forward<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The dairy farmers must be given <\/span><b>a stable market and remunerative price <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for the milk. For the price, a greater weightage should be accorded to the quantity of milk than its fat content<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They must be ensured of an <\/span><b>uninterrupted supply of fodder and cattle feed<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at a reasonable price.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government should also provide a <\/span><b>regular supply of veterinary services and medicines to them<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/opinion\/columns\/indias-dairy-sector-is-in-crisis-government-must-do-more-to-help-7333340\/\">India Express<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Synopsis: The second wave of pandemic has brutally impacted the dairy sector. There is a reduction in milk demand along with a shortage of livestock feed. The situation is very grim and requires the adoption of robust measures to support the dairy sector. Background: In the first wave, agriculture and allied sectors put up a&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/dairy-sector-in-india-needs-urgent-attention\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Dairy Sector in India Needs Urgent Attention<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,1351,1310,9],"tags":[1311],"class_list":["post-109303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-daily-news","category-daily-news-updates","category-public","tag-agri_5","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109303\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}