Panaji, Sep 20 (PTI) Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh on Friday said the biggest challenge of the government is to bring all milk producers into the organised sector in order to boost their income.
The Union minister for fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying was addressing an event organised by Compound Livestock Feed Manufacturers’ Association (CLFMA) of India here.
“The big challenge is that dairy farmers are not getting adequate price for milk. The middleman collects milk from them and sells it in the market and earns one-and-half times of what the farmer gets. This is largely because the milk production sector is unorganised, which allows middlemen to prosper,” Singh said.
He said the condition of farmers is better wherever cooperatives have been formed, citing the example of Gujarat.
“When I went there, farmers showed me on their mobile app about quantity of milk supplied etc. They are getting their money in their bank accounts in 10 days. In Bihar, the diary sector was unorganised 15 years ago but the situation is improving,” Singh added.
Under the Narendra Modi government, milk production is seeing 6 per cent annual growth, while it was 2 per cent earlier, the Union minister said.
“In 2013-14, the per capita consumption of milk in India was 307 grams. It is 459 grams at present,” he pointed out. PTI RPS BNM
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