Indian dairy industry should be repositioned: Swaminathan

Kolkata, Nov 23 (UNI) Repositioning Indian dairy industry for formers' interest to ensure business and socio-economic development is a matter of huge concern in today's competitive world, according to Agri-scientist Dr M S Swaminathan.

Addressing the 35th Dairy Industry conference here today, Dr Swaminathan stressed on redifining roles and responsibilities of different players in this industry.

He said, ''In this fast changing global and domestic environment, we need to strengthen rural livelihood through dairy industry.'' Speaking on the ocassion, National Dairy Development Board Chairman Dr Amrita Patel said presently India continued to be the largest milk producer in the world with about four per cent per annum. However, it needed to be increased keeping in view the growing population and demand.

''The major challanges faced by our dairy industry are mainly post-production-related causes like milk collection, processing, product manufacturing and marketing and these should to be improved,'' Dr Patel said.

She further said the net income of the milk producers had to be increased rather than increasing farm commodities.

Citing the example of Kerala MFD vaccine project, where the state government bore the cost of delivering vaccination service to the milk producers, while the cost of vaccines were borne by the milk producers, Dr Patel said public-private partnership was necesssary in this sector.

Lamenting upon of the decline of indegenious cattle population, Dr Swaminathan said indiscriminate cross-breeding had to be checked and policies should be reinforced.

He further stressed on the need of cooperatives, which check exploitation of the dairy farmers in the market economy, and added that judicious use of livestock feed, control of infectious diseases and effective communication were important to develop the dairy industry.

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