'Need to increase dairy animals' productivity to meet demand'

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Parshottam Rupala today emphasised the need on increasing productivity of dairy animals with the increase in demand for milk.

The minister was speaking after inaugurating a national workshop on improving feed production efficiency and quality control aspects of cattle feed plants, organised by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in Anand town, about 35 kms from here.

Agriculture is the back bone of rural economy of the country and dairying system plays an important role in it, Rupala was quoted as saying in a press release issued by NDDB.

He said that with the increase in demand for milk, productivity of dairy animals should increase.
 

"It is time that we refocus our efforts in providing good quality feed and mineral mixture and put up concerted efforts in promoting different variants of compound cattle feed for different categories of animals," he said.

Rupala said for ensuring quality in feed production, there is a need to have qualified trained manpower, efficient plants and machinery and technical expertise to produce right type of feeds.

Chairman of NDDB Dilip Rath, in his address, said that India's model of milk production is based on feeding crop residues and agricultural by-products and using family labour to add value to resources which otherwise have limited alternative economic value.

"It is in this context that the role of compound cattle feed in animal nutrition to help support the increase in milk production becomes significant," Rath said.

He informed that the dairy cooperative network produces about 3.6 million tonnes per annum with an installed capacity of about 5 million tonnes in 70 cattle feed plants.

"In addition the private sector produces an additional 4.5 million tonnes. A total of 8 million tonnes per annum is sufficient for only about 8 million of the more than 100 million breedable animals," Rath said.

On the occasion, Rupala launched NDDB's Cattle Feed Knowledge Portal, an interactive knowledge platform on various aspects of compound cattle feed production.