Why in the News?

Union Cabinet approved the Revised National Program for Dairy Development (NPDD) with an enhanced outlay for the period of 15^th Finance Commission cycle (2021-22 to 2025-26).

Objectives of Revised NPDD

• Establish 10,000 new Dairy Cooperative Societies.
• Strengthen milk procurement and processing in the North Eastern Region (NER).
• Formation of 2 Milk Producer Companies with dedicated grant support in addition to the ongoing projects of NPDD.

• Generate an additional 3.2 lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities, focusing on women, which constitute 70% of dairy workforce.

National Program for Dairy Development (NPDD)

• It is a Central Sector Scheme launched in 2014 (Restructured in 2021).
• Implementing Agency: Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying.
• Objectives: 
  • To create and strengthen infrastructure for milk and milk products including cold chain infrastructure;
  • To create training infrastructure for training of dairy farmers;
  • To increase milk production by providing technical input services like cattle-feed, and mineral mixture;
  • To assist in rehabilitation of potentially viable milk federations/unions.
• The scheme consists of 2 key components:
  • Component A: Improving essential dairy infrastructure especially in remote and backward areas by supporting formation of Dairy Cooperative Societies (DCS)/Milk Producers Companies (MPC). E.g. milk chilling plants, milk testing laboratories, and certification systems.
  • Component B: Dairying through Cooperatives (DTC): Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-assisted programme for sustainable development of dairy cooperatives by improving production, processing, and marketing infrastructure in the 9 States.

Challenges in Dairy Sector:

• Low Productivity: Lower milk production per animal alongsidehighly fragmented nature of the dairy sector in India. 
  • Reasons- Ineffective breeding programmes, limited extension services, low technological adoption, and limited availability and affordability of quality feed and fodder etc.
• Informal and unorganized: Cultural preference for informal supply of milk leads to lower demand for packaged milk from organized sector. 
• Quality issues: Adulteration is a major issue in supply chain of milk and milk products. E.g. dilution of milk, use of urea etc.
• Animal health and breeding services: Limited veterinary infrastructure development and lack of awareness about vaccinations leads to health issues in animals. E.g. Foot and Mouth Disease
• Administration: Poor governance of cooperatives with interventions of State governments hinders the democratic practices of cooperatives.
• Limited processing and storage: Lack of value-addition, processing, storage and marketing infrastructure impacts the profitability of the milk farmers.

Way Forward

• Infrastructure development: Infrastructure related to milk production, processing, storage and research needs to be made accessible at village and district levels. 
  • E.g. Cold chain infrastructure, quality testing labs, veterinary services, value-addition mechanization etc.
• Technological adoption: Development of a scientific approach to animal husbandry with making technological interventions accessible and affordable. 
  • E.g. study of animal genetics and methods like artificial insemination, embryo transfer etc.
• Promoting Cooperatives: Capitalizing on the power of collectivism in remote areas and increasing awareness about the benefits of cooperatives in dairy farmers.
• Processing and Marketing: Promote processing of milk to make in-demand milk products like A2 Ghee, paneer etc. Marketing of quality products with a goal of creating a brand and promoting exports of dairy products.