India’s transformation from a milk deficit to a milk surplus has been remarkable. Operation Flood, which began in 1970 and ended in 1990, was arguably the world’s most ambitious dairy development programme, transforming India into one of the world’s largest milk producers. In many ways, India’s milk production rate over the last few decades has been reflective of the country’s economic and political rise.
In 2018-19, milk supply per capita was 394 grams per day, compared to a global average of 302 grams. The country’s annual milk production increased at a compound annual growth rate of 6.4 per cent between 2016 and 2019. India produces about 22 per cent of the world’s milk, with an annual output of 187.75 million tonnes (as of 2018-19 data).
India, on the other hand, is still yet to enter the ranks of major milk exporting nations, as much of what we produce is consumed domestically. So, in order to understand the problems that our dairy industry is facing, it’s necessary to dig deep and identify the factors that have been limiting our cows’ productivity.
The dairy industry is important for a number of reasons. It includes the socio-cultural affinity for cows and dairy products in many parts of the country and the fact that it employs more than 70 million farmers as an industry. However, the most pressing need of the hour is for us to figure out how to improve our farmers’ return on investment. According to recent data, indigenous cows produce 3.01kg of milk per cow per day, while exotic crossbreed cows produce 7.95kg.
This means that the average productivity performance of indigenous cattle is only 1,099kg per animal per year. It includes both non-descript and high-yielding indigenous breeds. The same is 3,073kg per animal per year for cross-bred cattle. The magic word is, of course, “Crossbreeding”. Because of advances in reproductive technology such as In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), embryo transfer, and artificial insemination, crossbreeding is gaining popularity. IVF and artificial insemination are now the most common and efficient methods among these.
NAIP is National Artificial Insemination Program. Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated the NAIP (Phase-I) in Mathura on September 11, 2019. Each animal in the programme was given a 12-digit unique identification number under the Pashu Aadhar scheme. It was to ensure better cattle monitoring. Continuous animal tracking is possible from the time of artificial insemination until the birth of the calf.
NAIP Phase-II, which builds on the first phase of the programme, began on August 1, 2020. It has an allocation of $1,090 crore in 604 districts, covering 50,000 animals per district. The deadline for its completion is May 31, 2021. 9.06 crore artificial inseminations is part of the initiative. Expectance is the birth of 1.5 crore high-yielding female calves. As a result, there is a production of an additional 18 million tonnes of milk. It has average productivity rising from 1,861kg per animal per year to 3,000kg per animal per year.
Artificial insemination (AI) technology is the most popular method in India until now. However, its performance is dependent on heat detection accuracy and timely insemination. And this is where IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) technology can come in handy. IVF has proven to be a useful tool in crossbreeding. It is because it allows different bulls’ sperm to fertilize each oocyte in a sample. It results in greater genetic diversity from a single cow. After approval of the construction of 30 IVF labs, 15 are already operational.
Under Prime Minister Modi’s vision of “Make in India” and the aim of becoming an “Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) Bharat”. Due to this, there is great traction in the animal husbandry and dairying sectors for the last six years. The marriage of rural farming with the latest technological advances will usher in great transformation in our dairy industry, in keeping with our ethos of “Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan.”
