BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government has set the target to double the milk production in the state in next five years and touch 150 lakh litre per day by 2030, said Fisheries and Animal Resources Development (FARD) minister Gokulananda Mallik on Tuesday.
Speaking at a state-level event organised to mark National Milk Day, the minister said the state now produces around 72 lakh litre of milk per day. While the per capita requirement is 300 ml of milk per day, the production is only about 160 ml, he said.
In order to enhance the milk production and boost the dairy sector, Mallik said, the government has recently launched Mukhyamantri Kamadhenu Yojana with an outlay of `1,423.47 crore for five years.
“We have taken several measures to enhance milk production and promote farmers. Financial assistance of up to `1 crore is being provided for establishing dairy units and milk processing plants under Mukhyamantri Krishi Udyog Yojana,” he said.
This apart, 314 mobile veterinary units have been pressed into service to strengthen livestock healthcare services in rural areas. Artificial insemination is being done through sex-sorted semen in order to make dairying more profitable. Dairy farmers are also being provided assistance for fodder cultivation, vaccination and deworming of animals, Mallik said.
On the occasion, the minister paid tributes to Varghese Kurien, father of white revolution in the country, and urged farmers and unemployed youths to take the advantage of various schemes launched to boost cattle farming and milk production.
Principal secretary of FARD Suresh Kumar Vashishth said OMFED is being revamped to accommodate more farmers. “Now more than three lakh dairy farmers are being benefitted through 3,700 milk producers’ cooperative societies and they are being provided with subsidies on feed and trained for better dairy farming practices,” he said.
More than 25 successful milk farmers and entrepreneurs were felicitated on this occasion. Meanwhile, Bhaskar Pradhan of Subarnapur district received the ‘National Gopal Ratna Award-2024’ as best artificial insemination technician.
Union minister for Fisheries, Animal Resources and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh presented the award to Pradhan at an event in New Delhi. This is for the third time in a row that Odisha has received the award.
Steps taken
Odisha now produces around 72 lakh litre of milk per day
Govt has launched Mukhyamantri Kamadhenu Yojana with an outlay of Rs 1,423.47 cr for 5 yrs
314 mobile veterinary units engaged to strengthen livestock healthcare services
Artificial insemination through sex-sorted semen being done to make dairying more profitable
Assistance being provided to dairy farmers for fodder cultivation, vaccination, deworming of animals