Dairy Sahakar Scheme: From Cooperation to Prosperity

To make the vision of “From Cooperation to Prosperity” true, Dairy Sahakar Scheme came into force on the 75th Foundation Year of Amul. At Anand, Gujarat during a function organized by Amul, the Union Home Minister launched the scheme on October 31, 2021. Implemented by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), Dairy Sahakar intends to encourage the cooperative dairy business in the country. However, it should be noted that the scheme is under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare.

Background:

• Since agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy especially rural livelihood. Along with this, the livestock sector plays a pivotal role. Therefore, harmonizing various programs conducive to the growth of the sector becomes crucial.
• Only the dairy sector itself contributes around 4% of the Indian GDP with a production of 198.4 million MT of milk in 2019-20. India ranked the highest in the world with this data. Hence, India, being the largest producer of milk in the world, needed to harmonize the sector more efficiently and effectively.

Problems in Dairy Sector:

• Highly unorganized: About 60% of surplus milk is handled by the unorganized sector i.e. milkmen.
• Low productivity: Average milk yield of cows in India is lower than its US counterparts. In fact, compared to ~10000 kgs of milk per year in the USA, India has a rate of 1248 kgs of milk per cow in a year, which is shockingly low.
• Lack of technology when it comes to hybrid varieties and other steps involved in the entire process.
• High wastage due to the perishable nature of the products in the sector.
• Inconsistent quality and quantity of milk
• Fragmented supply chain
• Impact of Covid-19 caused demand and supply mismatch.
• High price volatility, etc.

Features of Dairy Sahakar Scheme:

• The total budget allotted for the scheme is Rs 5000 crore.
• Extending financial support to the eligible cooperatives by the NCDC.
• There will also be a convergence with various schemes of the Government of India and/or of State Government/UT administration/Development agencies/bilateral/multilateral assistance/CSR.
• Most importantly, Dairy Sahakar looks forward to strengthening the dairy sector in India within the overall objectives. Namely:
  • Doubling the farmers’ income
  • Atmanirbhar Bharat

To know more about Dairy Sahakar click here

Other Important Initiatives/Schemes in the sector include:

• National Digital Livestock Mission (NDLM)
• Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM)
• National Dairy Plan Phase I (NDP 1)
• National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP)
• Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme (DEDS)
• Pashu-Aadhar
• e-GOPALA

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