Uttar Pradesh is India's largest milk producer and nine new greenfield dairy plants will get functional in the state in the next two years, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Monday.
He sought the National Dairy Development Board's further support for the dairy sector in the state and assured all cooperation from his government. Adityanath said UP now has 319 lakh metric tonnes of annual milk production and contributes 16 per cent of India's dairy production and is the top milk-producing state in the country.
He made the appeal and shared the figures during his speech at the inaugural session of the International Dairy Federation World Dairy Summit 2022, being held in Greater Noida. The four-day summit, last held in India in 1974, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"UP is the largest state in India in terms of population. It is also at the top in the country in milk production, having 16 per cent of the country's dairy production. "Today UP produces 319 lakh metric tonne per annum (MTPA) milk and is top in the country. This makes the organization of the World Dairy Summit in UP even more relevant," Adityanath said.
Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala, his deputy minister Sanjeev Balyan, IDF president Piercristiano Brazzale, among others, were present during the address.
Adityanath noted that the theme of the Summit -- Dairy for Nutrition and Livelihood -- focuses on the income of farmers and animal keepers. "Besides this, it focuses on job creation and nutrition also. These are relevant issues," he said.
Adityanath said a majority of people engaged in animal keeping comprises those who have taken it up as a traditional occupation. "But when we link it with technology and modern approach, then it will help in increasing their income manifold. This is why India's traditional approach, where a large number of small and marginal farmers keep animals with the same importance with which they take up farming," he said.
"UP and India have become top milk producers because of these animal keepers and farmers," the chief minister said. In the organised sector, Uttar Pradesh has 110 functional dairies and it includes those from the cooperative sector, he said. There are also 8,600 milk committees through which more than four lakh members engaged in milk production are active in the state, he added.
"At present, Uttar Pradesh is working on a war footing to start nine new Greenfield dairy plants. These plants will become functional in the next one to two years. I would request the National Dairy Development Board to provide support to UP and also leverage the opportunities present in the state for the dairy sector. The UP government is ready to support it," he said.
He praised the Balinee Milk Producer company, which was set up in 2019 in Jhansi, by women self-help-group with over 41,000 members and now produces 1.35 lakh litres of milk daily from 795 villages in six districts of the Bundelkhand region.
"This women-led SHG now has an annual turnover of Rs 150 crore and net profit of Rs 13 crore. Balini Milk Producer is an exemplary model for a state like Uttar Pradesh," he apprised the gathering, consisting of Indian and global dairy industry stakeholders.
He said on similar lines, work is in progress to set up four more milk producers in various regions of the state and the state government is constantly making all efforts for it. The UP government is working for investments in the state in the next five years in UP under the Nand Baba Milk Mission, he said.
"The state government has come up with a new policy which offers several incentives. The state government is ready to work on any exemplary model in the dairy sector within India or anywhere in the world," Adityanath said.
He said works to the tune of Rs 300 crore have been approved for UP under the Centre's Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Fund and the state government has also received a commendation letter from the Centre for the good work done in the sector.
"UP has proposed a global investors' summit in January 2023 and under that the state government has prepared a policy through which investments in the dairy sector will also be explored," the CM said, adding he was hopeful of good results. On stray cattle, Adityanath said his government was working on that front, too and at present more than 6,600 cattle shelters are functional in the state.
"In these shelters, over 9 lakh cattle are kept in protection. Besides that more than 1.5 lakh cattle have been provided by the UP government to the animal keepers who are given financial aid to take care of the livestock," he said.
He said so far 84 lakh cattle have been vaccinated in the state under a Central government initiative started in 2019 by PM Modi, while 25 lakh cattle have been administered for brucellosis (a contagious disease in ruminants that also affects humans).
(With PTI Inputs)
