Kerala   

Ministers devise plans for growth in dairy sector

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan on Wednesday inaugurated the regional conference of the Dairy Ministers and officials of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala with a call to strengthen inter-State cooperation to augment sustained and equitable growth in the dairy sector.

In his inaugural address, the Chief Minister said it was the initiatives in the cooperative sector which permitted India to stop import of powdered milk and milk-related products and become a net exporter.

“But, we witnessed unprecedented scarcity of milk throughout the country last year. The State governments are taking initiatives to increase milk production to meet the growing demands. There is a need to collectively evaluate the situation and initiate steps to address problems,” Mr. Achuthanandan said.

Presiding over the inaugural session, Minister for Animal Husbandry of State C. Divakaran said even though the country had become the top milk producer in the world, the per capita consumption and availability of milk here were far behind the global average.

“Even though we have 185 million cattle and 98 million buffaloes, the yield of average animals is far below that of the developed countries. There are also reports that cattle population in the country has started declining in the past few years,” he said.

Pointing out that movement of milk from North to South was difficult as it was a perishable commodity, Mr. Divakaran said regional cooperation could be advantageous for consumer States like Kerala and producer States such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Minister for Milk and Dairy Development, Tamil Nadu, U. Mativanan said that there must be effective forums for the exchange of the viable practices between States.

Minister for Animal Husbandry, Tamil Nadu, Geetha Jeevan said that the schemes launched in her State for bringing veterinary care to the door-steps of farmers had significantly contributed to reducing animal diseases in Tamil Nadu.

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