At Candolim meet, Union minister says India’s livestock sector bullish

Calangute: Union minister of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh on Friday said the Centre has taken several measures to develop affordable indigenous technologies for the dairy sector. Singh was speaking at the 65th national symposium of the Compound Livestock Feed Manufacturers Association (CLFMA), at Candolim on Friday. The theme of his speech was ‘Sustainable livestock sector: threats, challenges and opportunities’.

“The livestock sector is an important subsector of agriculture in the Indian economy. It grew at a compound annual growth rate of 9.82% from 2014-15 to 2022-23 and is one of the fastest growing sectors of the country,” Singh said. He added that the value of the output of the livestock sector was Rs 17.2 lakh crore at current prices in 2022-23.

“The value of the output of milk alone is more than Rs 11 lakh crore, which is the highest among agricultural produce and even more than the combined value of paddy and wheat,” Singh said. “The animal husbandry sector provides livelihood support to more than 100 million rural households. Milk production has increased by 57.6% over the past nine years from 146.3 million metric tonnes in 2014-15 to 230.6 million metric tonnes in 2022-23. It has been growing at the annual rate of 5.9% over the past nine years.”

The per capita availability of milk was 459 grams per day in 2022-23, Singh said, against the world average of 325 grams per day. Divya Kumar Gulati, who was elected the new chairperson of CLFMA on Saturday, said that finding alternative sources of animal feed is the main challenge facing the livestock sector. Another problem is the decreasing supply of raw materials, Gulati said.

Suresh Deora, the outgoing chairperson of the association, said consumption of livestock products is constantly increasing all over the world. “With economic prosperity, people are consuming more eggs, milk, and cheese,” Deora said.

“The consumption of these items is also increasing significantly in India. The objective of the conference is to develop a platform based on the farm-to-fork approach for farmers and livestock producers.”


Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, Location Guesser and Mini Crossword. Spread love this holiday season with these Christmas wishes, messages, and quotes.