Dairy Sector Can Transform the Rural Economy: Tarun Sridhar, Former Secretary

June 1 which is commemorated as World Milk Day, is a global celebration that emphasizes the nutritional value of milk, promoting its consumption as part of a healthy diet for people of all ages. To mark this day, Tarun Shridhar, the Former Secretary  (Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries) in the Union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, shared a special message with Krishi Jagran.

As part of it, he said, “Let us celebrate nutritious and sustainable dairy – this is the slogan of the World Milk Day of 2024. And, no one else has a bigger cause and reason to celebrate this day than us (in India). The saga of India’s dairy sector is surreal; it starts with the launching of Operation Flood in 1970 which is preceded by the story of Amul which led to the empowerment of village cooperatives for milk collection and marketing.”

He continued, “Impressed by the success of Amul, the then Prime Minister, Late Lal Bahadur Shastri launched Operation Flood under the aegis of the National Dairy Development Board. At that time, the total milk production in the country was close to 23 million tonnes. Remarkably, as of last year, we produced 230.6 million tonnes.”

He expressed his delight at how the nation has been atop the milk production in the world for decades now. “Our per capita availability of 459 grams per person per day is way higher than the global per capita average. Moreover, we produce one-fourth of the global milk production which is all the more reason that we cherish and sustain the success of our dairy model,” he said.  

Next, he shared that the dairy sector is empowering local communities by creating gender balance, giving the sources of production and the tools of marketing in the hands of the primary producers. “The story of milk is also a story of how our rural economy can be transformed by giving surplus cash in the hands of the producers and ensuring that the end consumer pays a sizeable amount to the primary producer rather than the mid-level processors and the marketers. This is all the more reason that we protect our dairy and take active steps so it can sustain itself as it has done over the past few decades,” he emphasized.

He mentioned that dairy has tremendous potential to transform the rural economy. “Therefore, this World Milk Day, let us re-assert our commitment to ensuring that the sector continues to progress and contributes immensely to the rural economy. Let it be known to everyone that the combined value of our dairy sector is close to 10 lakh crore rupees which is more than the combined value of paddy and wheat produced every year.”

Finally, he ended by congratulating every citizen of the nation on World Milk Day noting that it is a source of great pride for all in having attained the top position in dairy, specifically raw milk production in the world.