Ladies & Gentlemen,
I am delighted to be here to inaugurate a new modern milk processing plant with one lakh litre capacity set up by the Peoples Dairy Development Project, Kalady.
The Peoples Dairy Development Project, a charitable society registered in 1983 with an objective to render maximum help to marginal farmers and agricultural labourers has been doing a tremendous job by way of collecting, processing and distributing over 45000 litres of milk and milk products per day. This has helped more than 200 societies having by around 25000 farmer members.
As you all know, India ranks first among the world’s milk producing nations with the milk production of 108.50 million tonnes during 2008-09. Dairying has become an important secondary source of income for millions of rural families and has assumed the most important role in providing employment and income generating opportunities.
Government of India is making efforts to increase the productivity of milk animals and thus increase the per capita availability of milk. Milk production and marketing system in India is unique. Most of the milk is produced by small, marginal farmers and landless labourers who are grouped into cooperatives at the village level. To provide them a steady market and a remunerative price for milk produced, about 13.90 million farmers have been brought under the ambit of about 1,33,349 village level dairy cooperative societies in the country.
Government is actively supporting the dairy sector by implementing various schemes. It all started with the White Revolution under the title Operation Flood in 1970. It has been instrumental in helping the farmers mould their own development through cooperative dairying and to help milk reach to consumers in 700 towns and cities through a National Milk Grid. It also helped eradicate the need for middlemen thereby reducing the seasonal price variations. As a result of the cooperative structure the whole exercise of production and distribution of milk and milk products has become economically viable for farmers to undertake on their own. There is a need for more farmers to organize themselves under the cooperative network to get the benefits of organised dairy farming.
Government has been implementing various dairy development schemes like Intensive Dairy Development Programme, Strengthening Infrastructure of Quality & Clean Milk Production, Assistance to Cooperatives & Dairy/Poultry Venture Capital Fund to popularize dairying as a source of livelihood. Government is also examining launching National Dairy Plan which is strategic plan with an outlay of Rs.17,371 crore to achieve a target of 180 million tonnes of milk production annually by 2021-22. Milk production is expected to grow at 4% with an annual incremental output of 5million tonnes in the next 15 years. Under this plan, the Government is contemplating to enhance milk production in major milk producing areas, strengthen and expand infrastructure to produce, process and market milk through the existing and new institutional structures. The plan envisages breed improvement through AI and through natural service, setting up plants to augment cattle feed, by-pass protein and mineral mixture. The plan also proposes to bring 65% of the surplus milk produced under organized sector for procurement as against the present 30%. Separately, the Government has launched a new scheme called Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) with a massive investment of Rs.25,000 crore for the next 4 to 5 years to promote agriculture and allied sectors. All these activities are expected to help India emerge as a major player in the world dairy sector.
As far as Kerala is concerned, Government of India has sanctioned 3 IDDP projects in 8 districts of Idukki, Pathnamthitta, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur & Kasaragod and also 12 Clean Milk Production (CMP) projects in all 14 districts of Kerala state. A total amount of Rs.1815.32 lakhs for IDDP and Rs.1696.69 lakh for CMP has been released so far. Entrepreneur like People Dairy Development Project should take advantage of the Dairy Venture Capital Fund, which is an interest free loan scheme. Government is considering to extend this to all districts in the country.
I am sure that new milk processing plant will contribute in promoting sustainable growth of milk processing in the Ernakulam District of the State. I wish Peoples Dairy Development Project, a great success in their efforts in future.
Thank you.
