'White Revolution' hit by delayed monsoon

, July 5: The

cooperatives in Mewat wear a shoddy look as the owner stares blank at the chilling tanks. Only half full these days, the animal tenders blame the draught-like situation that has devoided the cattle of the nutritious moisture in fodder. Jai Prakash Sharma, the manager of a cooperative in Haryana said,"If there are not sufficient rains in the next few days, some farmers may start selling animals for slaughtering."

Let aside the lower profit margins in the dairy industry, farmers worry about the lack of milk supply, which is adding on to the inflationary pressures.

India, which is considered to be the world's biggest milk producers is now bothered about meeting the basic requirement of the 1.2 billion population that demands more protein these days. With rising income and the changing lifestyle, the demand for milk products may have increased, but the supply is meagre. This, in fact, has turned out to be a long-term problem for the Indian government.

OneIndia News