New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the International Dairy Federation World Dairy Summit (IDF WDS) 2022, being held at India Expo Centre and Mart, Greater Noida. The four-day-long IDF WDS 2022 is being held from September 12 to September 15 where 1,500 participants from 50 countries are expected to join. IDF President Piercristiano Brazzale, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Parshottam Rupala, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were also present during the event.
Addressing the summit, the Prime Minister said that "women are the real leaders of India's dairy sector" adding that "women comprise 70 per cent of India's dairy sector workforce while one-third of members of India's dairy cooperative sector are women."
Speaking at the event, PM Modi said that low-income farmers are the spine of India's dairy sector. " India's dairy sector is identified by production by masses rather than mass production," he said, adding that "it is the efforts of these farmers who have either one or two cattles due to which India has become the largest milk producer."
PM Modi also talked about the dairy cooperative system in the country saying that "it has a large network in the country where milk is collected two times a day in over 2 lakh villages from over 2 crore farmers". "70 per cent of the income received from customers goes directly to the farmers," he said.
Addressing the current issue of lumpy skin disease in cattle, PM Modi said that the Centre is making all efforts to prevent the disease. He also said that the government will ensure 100 per cent vaccination against hand, foot, and mouth disease in cattle
The Summit being held after half a century in India — the last summit held in 1974 — is a congregation of global and Indian dairy stakeholders including industry leaders, experts, farmers, and policy planners centering around the theme of ‘Dairy for Nutrition and Livelihood’.
The Indian dairy industry is unique in the sense that it is based on a cooperative model that empowers small and marginal dairy farmers, especially women. Driven by the vision of the Prime Minister, the government has taken multiple steps for the betterment of the dairy sector resulting in an increase in milk production by more than 44% in the last eight years, stated the official press release by the Prime Minister’s Office.
The success story of the Indian dairy industry, accounting for about 23% of global milk, producing around 210 million tonnes annually, and empowering more than 8 crore dairy farmers, will be showcased at the IDF WDS 2022. The summit will also help Indian dairy farmers to gain exposure to the global best practices, it added.