Discuss the initiatives which can ensure sustainable growth of the dairy sector as well as boost incomes of millions of small and marginal dairy farmers. (200 Words)
Refer - Financial Express
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 4 years
KEY POINTS
· The Rational Balancing Programme was designed to be a large-scale demonstration of the benefits of balanced feeding to dairy animals.
· The RBP was the critical component of the World Bank-supported National Dairy Plan (NDP) Phase I (during 2011-12 to 2018-19) in 18 major milk-producing states.
· One of the key focus of the NDP-I was to increase the productivity of milch animals and thereby increase milk production to meet the rapidly-growing demand for milk.
· Prior to the implementation of the NDP- I, most of the feed-related interventions in India were limited to the supply of compound cattle feed and mineral mixture only. This led to lower productivity of animals as against their genetic potential, higher cost of production, late onset of puberty, etc.
· Farmers also used to feed their animals based on traditional knowledge and information passed through generations. They fed their animals with the crop-residues, locally available concentrate, ingredients such as bran, oil-cakes, grains, etc, and seasonally-available green fodders.
· The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) developed a software-Information Network for Animal Productivity and Health (INAPH)-through which ration of dairy animals could be balanced. Taking into consideration regional variations, nutrient masters were created for different categories of dairy animals, and district-wise feed libraries were developed.
· After completion of NDP I, the RBP is being implemented by nine states at present. The RBP was successful in reaching out to 2.1 million farmers.
· To reach more farmers, the NDDB has developed the Pashu Seva App that can be used to optimise feeding costs and manage common diseases.
· The app also notifies farmers about due dates for de-worming and booster vaccination, artificial insemination and pregnancy check. The Pashu Seva app is freely downloadable for dairy farmers, and would soon be available in Hindi as well as many regional languages.
K. V. A 4 years
Pls review
IAS Parliament 4 years
