The former executive director of National Dairy Development Board N.V. Belavadi has said that there is a need to increase milk production in the country from 120 million tonnes to 210 million tonnes by 2020-2021.
Meeting the target
While speaking on the challenges faced by the dairy industry during the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) Foundation Day here on Sunday, he said though the milk production was growing at 3.7 per cent per annum, it might not be enough to meet the target.
The production should grow at least by 8.5 per cent per annum, he said.
Director and Vice-Chancellor of NDRI A.K. Srivastava said that about 30 per cent of the agricultural sector’s contribution towards the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) came from the livestock sector.
“The livestock sector contributes about 4.5 per cent to the GDP,” he said.
Challenges
Pointing out the challenges faced by the industry, Mr. Srivastava said, “We need to increase the number of high yielding animals and decrease the number of non-productive animals to reduce the competition on feed and fodder.”
Speaking on the need for a shift to integrated farming, Satish Kulkarni, southern head of NDRI, said that the use of innovative technology and quality human resources would take the industry forward.
