The huge increase in milk supply through concerted efforts on a cooperative level is known as the White Revolution. Forty-eight years after Operation Flood – that made India the world’s largest milk producer – India continues to be on the lookout for the next breakthrough in agricultural produce and productivity.

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Milk production in India:

• India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of dairy products.
• Currently India has 17% of world output of dairy products, surpassing USA in 1998 as world’s largest producer of dairy. All this was achieved by operation Flood which was launched in 1970’s.
• According to market research company IMARC, the milk and dairy products industry reached Rs7.9 lakh crore in 2017.
• In 2016, the milk sector alone was valued at Rs3 lakh crore and is projected to scale Rs7.3 lakh crore by 2021.
• The per capita milk availability in India has gone up from 126 gm per day in 1960 to 359 gm per day in 2015.

Potential of diary sector:

• The dairy industry in India is unique. With six lakh villages housing about 90 crore people, dairying is not just a large economic activity but also an integral part of our social and cultural heritage
• Its uniqueness lies in its unifying power, in the fact that no other industry touches lives of millions of farmers, of which 70 per cent are landless.
• Complementing this are Indian climatic conditions that support animal husbandry. Dairy, in effect, could become a great tool for equitable growth and income distribution.
• What remains is providing market access by offering stable and remunerative prices to farmers and encouraging this generations-old sustainable livelihood source.
• Can help small farmers to reduce dependence on crop sales
• Can increase source of income of farmers in low yielding areas like Marathwada, Bundelkhand etc
• India is surrounded by countries and regions that are milk-deficient, such as the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia.
• There is ample scope for export of value-added milk products to Bangladesh, China, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Japan, the UAE, Oman and other gulf countries, all of which are located close to India.
• At present, the population of South Asia alone is growing at 1.3 per cent a year; it is likely to be 2.2 billion by 2050. This presents an opportunity for India’s dairy industry.

Need for White Revolution 2.0:

• As per UN-DESA estimates, by 2025, India will beat China to become the most populous country in the world with 1.4 billion people.
• Further, by 2060, 56 per cent Indians will reside in urban areas and 44 per cent in rural areas. India is likely to have 143 cities with a population of more than one million by 2060.
• On the other hand, the number of villages will witness only a marginal increase, from 640,000 lakh in 2012 to just 675,000 lakh in 2060.
• This clearly indicates that India will face the problem of ‘mouths to feed’ growing faster than ‘hands to produce’.
• To help alleviate the agrarian distress this is being faced in past 5 years.
• To reduce the malnourishment and increase the “milk security” for every citizen.

Challenges to White Revolution 2.0:

• The Indian cows and buffaloes are generally low yielding and non-descript because of the lack of healthy cattle-feed and fodder, tropical heat and diseases.
• Despite lack of water and gradually declining arable land, dairy farming is on the rise.
• Free trade agreements, or FTAs, for instance, will allow EU government-subsidised products to be imported from Europe with little entry barriers. This will pose a big challenge to cow-farmers.
• Due to unhygienic production, handling conditions and high temperatures, the quality of milk is adversely affected.
• Because of inadequate marketing facilities, most of the marketable surplus is sold in the form of ghee which is the least remunerative of all milk products.

Measures needed:

• Education and Training at Panchayat level for small and medium size farmers
• Subsidizing cattle production and encouraging cattle markets
• Facility of logistics for produced milk
• Improved Veterinary facility specially in artificial insemination of cattle
• Encouraging private sector firm to procure dairy produced at rural level
• Low interest loans for small and medium scale farmers for cattle purchase
• Encouraging rural women to take up animal husbandry
• Insurance of cattle against diseases like Anthrax, Foot and Mouth, Peste des Ruminantes, etc.
• Nurture dairy entrepreneurs through effective training of youth at the village level coupled with dedicated leadership and professional management of farmers’ institutions.
• Agricultural practices, sanitation, quality of drinking water & fodder, type and quality of pipelines – all of these need to be aligned to the goal of healthy milk.