7-Oct-2022: Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah inaugurated Eastern and North-Eastern Cooperative Dairy Conclave 2022 in Gangtok, Sikkim today
The Union Minister for Home and Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah today inaugurated the Eastern and North-Eastern Cooperative Dairy Conclave 2022 in Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim. In another event, Shri Amit Shah unveiled the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at Raj Bhavan in Gangtok. The Governor of Sikkim, Shri Ganga Prasad and Chief Minister of Sikkim, Shri Prem Singh Tamang and many other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
Addressing the Eastern and North Eastern Region Dairy Cooperative Conference, the Union Home and Cooperation Minister said that 15 years ago in a Himalayan state, no one could have imagined that cooperative dairy conclaves from across the country could be held here. He said that milk production is the only way for women empowerment, poverty alleviation and doubling of farmer's income and it gives great peace of mind and feeling of joy to see the production of two lakh litres of milk per day by small farmer brothers in Sikkim. Shri Shah said that the Ministry of Cooperation and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) have planned a Multipurpose PACS in every Panchayat which will do the work of distribution of Dairy, FPO, Agriculture and Gas Production. Along with making arrangements for LPG distribution and it will provide arrangements for petrol pumps and storage and marketing where ever required. PACS will also work to connect the villages of the hill state like Sikkim with the whole world through PCOs in the village. He said that the Ministry of Cooperation has planned such multi-purpose and multi-dimensional PACS.
Shri Amit Shah said that since many years there was a huge demand in the country for eradication of poverty, empowerment of farmers, fishermen, handicraft artisans and lakhs- crores of tribals through cooperative sector and to fulfill it, the Ministry of Cooperation has been established. Shri Shah said that he would like to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for fulfilling the 70 years old demand of the cooperative movement of the country by setting up the Ministry of Cooperation. Shri Amit Shah said that cooperatives have a lot of potential and cooperative sector is a very strong pillar of the GDP of Gujarat. In Gujarat alone, 36 lakh women earn an annual income of Rs 56,000 crore through the Amul Federation. He said that our Sikkim state, which is called the Switzerland of the Northeast, should not be known only for its beauty, but by enriching every village, it has to be taken forward as a prosperous and developed state.
The Union Cooperation Minister said that for centuries, animal husbandry has played a very important role in the social and economic development of India and once upon a time, rivers of milk and ghee used to flow in our country. Earlier animal husbandry was a very important industry of our country but even after the independence, no one paid attention to it and gradually it ended. Shri Shah said that after the White Revolution, such a foundation is ready today, and the time has come to make dairy a medium of prosperity of the farmer and taking dairy to not just one state but every panchayat. He said that dairy is such an industry through which many objectives are fulfilled. Along with making dairy, arrangements are made for the nutrition of thousands of crores of children. Shri Shah said that our per capita milk production in the world is still not satisfactory and unless it is increased, there will be nutritional problem in such a large country. Dairy solves the problem of nutrition because when a cheque arrives in the hands of a woman who sells her milk in the dairy while engaging in animal husbandry, then the family becomes prosperous and poverty is also removed. He asked the NGOs working for malnutrition, women’s empowerment and the poor to focus on dairy because there can be no greater mean for women empowerment than dairy.
The Union Home and Cooperation Minister said that the gas produced from dairy helps the environment, cow dung helps in natural farming and natural farming improves human health. He said that the dairy system should be cooperative because if it is private, women will get only a few rupees, also in the cooperative system the profit earned will be directly deposited in the bank account of the woman. Shri Shah said that in the cooperative system, the livestock owners do not even need a doctor to handle their livestock. Along with this, there is also all kinds of arrangements like nutritious food, maintenance, health and vaccination for the animals. He said that whether it is a cow or a buffalo, the cooperative will bear the concern for entire maintenance and that is why the Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided that in the next 5 years every Panchayat of the country will have PACS and a dairy. He said that the biggest benefit of this is going to be for the eastern and northeastern regions of the country as the least number of PACS are registered here. If one multipurpose PAC is opened in every panchayat in Northeast which will also have dairy, then no one can stop the prosperity of East and Northeast India.
The Union Cooperation Minister said that we have to understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges of our dairy sector very well. Our strength is small landless farmers who still keep one to three cattle. There is no shortage of water in many states, including the Northeast. Grass is also easily available here and the government has worked to increase it further. He said that today we have a target to increase the number of two crore cattle rearers of the country to seven crores and to include them within the chain of cooperatives. If we are successful in achieving this goal then both women empowerment and poverty alleviation will get necessary boost. Shri Shah said that along with strength, we also have to see our weakness. The Government of India is committed to the promotion and propagation of good breeds of animals so that we can overcome this weakness of ours. He said that our second weakness in this sector is that almost 70% of the milk goes to the market in an unorganized way, due to which the farmer does not get its fair price. It is a weakness as well as a challenge that we should bring down the quantity of this 70% milk going into the market unorganized to 20. The Ministry of Cooperation has also set a target to tackle this challenge.
Shri Amit Shah said that today we have a huge opportunity in this field. There is a market of 130 crore in India. In our neighboring countries, milk products come from Switzerland, the Netherlands and Australia which have very high transportation costs. We have huge opportunity to deliver milk to countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. To explore this world market, the government is setting up a multi-state cooperative, which will act as an export house. It will work to export the milk product of our cooperative dairy in the world and bring profit to the farmer. He said that the domestic dairy market of Rs 13 lakh crore is also a big opportunity in front of us. The government is committed to increase this market from 13 lakh crore to 30 lakh crore by 2027. Shri Amit Shah said that the Government of India has formulated several animal husbandry schemes and in the last 7 years the budget of Rs. 2000 crore has been increased to Rs.6000 crore.
Shri Amit Shah said that the real development of North East has started only after Shri Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started developing the North East with a holistic approach. The Union Cooperation Minister said that Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi the government of India will cross the expenditure incurred after Independence in the entire North East if compared to the expenditure incurred in the last 10 years. Under the leadership of Shri Modi, airports, rail links, new national highway networks, irrigation systems and new industries have been set up in every state of the Northeast. Shri Modi calls the North East as Ashtalakshmi. Shri Shah said that we have to move forward in such a way that these eight States become the States that create eight types of capital.
14-Sep-2022: Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar addresses the AgriTech Summit
Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar addressed the AgriTech Summit here today. In his address, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar said that the government is working continuously for betterment of small farmers of the country. Many important schemes are being implemented in this direction, so that the challenges of farming can be reduced and the income of the farmers can be increased. Simultaneously, India is on a journey to become number one in the world in the agriculture sector.
Shri Tomar said that agriculture is a very important sector for our country. We have accepted the primacy of agriculture, in this regard, work is being done in the direction of its progress, changes in it, inclusion of policies, cooperation etc. There are 86 percent small farmers in the country, who have small acreage and cannot invest much. The government is working under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to take these farmers forward, because if the balance of these 86 percent farmers remains low, then neither agriculture nor the country will progress. Keeping this in mind, the government has started the work of creating 10,000 new FPOs. Rs 6865 crore is being spent for this. Of these, 3,000 have become FPOs. If small farmers join these FPOs, then the area under cultivation increases, the collective power of the farmer’s increases. If there is only one type of farming, then production will increase and farmers will be able to get good price. This effort is being made to increase the income of the farmers.
Shri Tomar said that the government is also working in the field of pulses and oilseeds. Both were areas of scarcity. Farmers have ventured into pulses and have made huge leaps in production. There is still a gap in oilseeds, for which the government is working on the oilseed mission. We know that edible oils have to be imported. Palm oil is consumed in about 56 percent of the oil consumed in our country, so the Palm Oil Mission has been started, on which the government will spend 11 thousand crores. About 28 lakh hectare area in the country is suitable for palm oil cultivation. In the first phase, efforts are being made to increase the cultivation of palm in an area of 6 lakh hectares. When the palm oil crop comes after three to four years, the import dependence will be less.
The Union Agriculture Minister said that today there is a need to deal with the challenges of the agriculture sector, how technology should be introduced in it, how to increase the availability of private investment, how to create employment opportunities, Prime Minister Modi has special concern about agriculture. This is the reason why a lot of effort has been made in that direction which can be contributed by the government. Before 2014, the agriculture budget used to be around Rs 22 thousand crore, which is Rs 1.32 lakh crore today. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is being operated for the farmer to get a security cover. In this scheme, Rs 1.22 lakh crore has been paid to the farmers to compensate them for the damages caused to their crops in six years. So far, Rs 2.03 lakh crore has been deposited in the accounts of 11 and a half crore farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, so that farmers can get income support.
Talking about technology in the agriculture sector, Shri Tomar said that the government is working on Digital Agri Mission so that the farmers can reach the government and the government can reach all the farmers. If transparency will increase through technology, then all the farmers will be able to get the full benefits of all the schemes. Under the Digital Agri Mission, if all the farmers, agricultural area, government schemes, central and state governments and banks are also brought on this platform, then the benefits of the schemes will be easily available. Farmers are being linked with mechanization. The government is promoting drone technology. The more technology and transparency increase in agriculture, the more it will benefit agriculture and the country will move forward. Awards were given in various categories in the program.
12-Sep-2022: PM inaugurates International Dairy Federation World Dairy Summit 2022 in Greater Noida
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated International Dairy Federation World Dairy Summit (IDF WDS) 2022 organised at India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida, today.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister expressed happiness that all the dignitaries from the world of dairy have assembled in India today. The Prime Minister said that the World Dairy Summit is going to be a great medium for the exchange of ideas. “The potential of the dairy sector not only gives impetus to the rural economy, but is also a major source of livelihood for crores of people across the world”, he said.
The Prime Minister underlined the centrality of ‘Pashu Dhan’ and milk-related business in the cultural landscape of India. This has given the dairy sector of India many unique characteristics. The Prime Minister pointed out that unlike other developed countries of the world, the driving force of the dairy sector in India is small farmers. India's dairy sector is characterized by "production by masses" more than "mass production". India is the largest milk-producing country on the basis of the efforts of these small farmers with one, two or three cattle. This sector provides employment to more than 8 crore families in the country, he informed.
Explaining the second unique characteristic of the Indian dairy system, the Prime Minister reiterated that there is such a huge network of Dairy Cooperative in India, and one cannot find such an example in the whole world elsewhere. Shri Modi said that these dairy cooperatives collect milk twice a day from about two crore farmers in more than two lakh villages in the country and deliver it to the customers. The Prime Minister drew everyone’s attention to the fact that there is no middleman in the entire process, and more than 70 per cent of the money that is received from the customers goes directly into the pockets of the farmers. “No other country has this ratio in the whole world”, the Prime Minister added. He also underlined the efficiency of the digital system of payment in the dairy sector and said that it has many lessons for other countries.
Another unique feature, according to the Prime Minister, is the indigenous breeds that can withstand many adverse circumstances. He gave the example of the sturdy buffalo breed of Banni Buffalo of the Kutch region of Gujarat. He also talked about other buffalo breeds such as Murrah, Mehsana, Jafrabadi, Nili Ravi, and Pandharpuri; among the cow breeds, he mentioned Gir, Sahiwal, Rathi, Kankrej, Tharparkar and Haryana.
As another unique characteristic, the Prime Minister highlighted the power of women in the dairy sector, the Prime Minister pointed out that women have a 70% representation in the workforce in India's dairy sector. “Women are the real leaders of India's dairy sector”, he added, “Not only this, more than a third of the members of dairy cooperatives in India are women.” He said at more than eight and a half lakh crore rupees, the dairy sector is more than the combined value of wheat and rice. This is all driven by the women power of India.
The Prime Minister underlined that the government has worked relentlessly to enhance the potential of India's dairy sector since 2014. This has led to an increase in milk production thereby leading to an increase in the income of farmers. “India produced 146 million tonnes of milk in 2014. It has now increased to 210 million tonnes. That is, an increase of about 44 per cent”, the Prime Minister pointed out. He also mentioned that as compared to the 2 per cent production growth at the global level, India is clocking the milk production growth rate at more than 6 per cent.
The Prime Minister said that the government is working on developing a blanched dairy ecosystem where challenges of the sectors are being addressed along with a focus on increasing production. Extra income for the farmers, empowerment of the poor, Swachhta, chemical-free farming, clean energy and care of the cattle is interlinked in this ecosystem. He stressed that animal husbandry and dairy are being promoted as a powerful medium of green and sustainable growth in the villages. Schemes like Rashtriya Gokul Mission, Goberdhan Yojna, Digitization of dairy sector and universal vaccination of cattle along with steps like banning single-use plastic, are steps in that direction.
Stressing the use of modern technology, the Prime Minister said that India is building the largest database of dairy animals and every animal associated with the dairy sector is being tagged. “We are doing biometric identification of animals. We have named it - Pashu Aadhar”, he said.
Shri Modi also stressed the growing entrepreneurial structures like FPAs and women self-help groups, and startups. He said that the sector has seen more than 1000 startups in recent times. He also talked about the strides in Gobardhan Yojna and said that aim is to reach a situation where dairy plants produce their own electricity from Gobar. The resulting manure will help the farmers also.
Drawing an analogy to farming, the Prime Minister said that animal husbandry and farming require diversity, and monoculture might not be the only solution. The Prime Minister stressed that today, India is paying equal attention to both indigenous breeds and hybrid breeds. He further elaborated that it will also reduce the risk of damage caused by climate change.
The Prime Minister addressed another major problem that is affecting the income of farmers which is the diseases of animals. “When the animal is sick it affects the life of the farmer, affecting his income. It also affects the efficiency of the animal, the quality of its milk and other related products”, he added. The Prime Minister emphasised that in this direction, India is working toward universal vaccination of animals. “We have resolved that by 2025, we will vaccinate 100% of the animals against Foot and Mouth Disease and Brucellosis. We are aiming to be completely free from these diseases by the end of this decade”, the Prime Minister remarked.
The Prime Minister observed that there has been a loss of livestock in many states of India due to the disease named Lumpy in the recent past and assured everyone that the central government, along with various state governments, is trying their level best to keep a check on it. “Our scientists have also prepared indigenous vaccine for Lumpy Skin Disease”, the Prime Minister added. The Prime Minister also pointed out that efforts are being made to track the movement of animals to keep the outbreak under control. Be it vaccination of animals or any other modern technology, the Prime Minister said that India is always eager to contribute to the field of dairy while striving to learn from its partner nations. “India has acted swiftly on its food safety standards”, Shri Modi added.
In concluding the address, the Prime Minister reiterated that India is working on a digital system which will capture the end-to-end activities of the livestock sector. This will provide accurate information needed to improve this sector. This summit will put forward the work that is being done around the world regarding many such technologies. The Prime Minister also urged everyone present to suggest ways to share the expertise related to this field. “I invite the global leaders of the dairy industry to join the drive to empower the dairy sector in India. I also appreciate the International Dairy Federation for their excellent work and contribution”, the Prime Minister concluded.
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Dr L Murugan, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing, Shri Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, Members of Parliament, Shri Surendra Singh Nagar and Dr Mahesh Sharma, President of International Dairy Federation, Shri P Brazzale, and Director General of International Dairy Federation, Ms Caroline Emond were among those present on the occasion. 75 lakh farmers got connected with the event through technology.
Background
The four-day-long IDF WDS 2022, held from 12th to 15th September, is a congregation of global and Indian dairy stakeholders including industry leaders, experts, farmers and policy planners centering around the theme of ‘Dairy for Nutrition and Livelihood’. Around 1500 participants from 50 countries are expected to participate in IDF WDS 2022. The last such Summit was held in India about half a century ago in 1974.
The Indian dairy industry is unique because it is based on a cooperative model that empowers small and marginal dairy farmers, especially women. Driven by the vision of the Prime Minister, the government has taken multiple steps for the betterment of the dairy sector resulting in an increase in milk production by more than 44% in the last eight years. The success story of the Indian dairy industry, accounting for about 23% of global milk, producing around 210 million tonnes annually, and empowering more than 8 crore dairy farmers, will be showcased at the IDF WDS 2022. The summit will also help Indian dairy farmers gain exposure to global best practices.