International dairy meet gets under way in Kochi by IDF and DAHD

India has set a model for public-private partnership (PPP) in the dairy sector, and the country has made admirable progress in milk production, Piercristiano Brazzale, president of the International Dairy Federation (IDF), has said.

He said the role played by women was a source of hope for the dairy sector, and that India imparted a lot of vitality to dairy entrepreneurs across the globe. Mr. Brazzale was delivering an introductory address at the inauguration of the Regional Dairy Conference of the IDF on Wednesday.

Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development J. Chinchurani  inaugurated the conference, the first being organised in India. She said the dairy sector should leverage new technology, evolve solutions to problems like climate change, and ensure sustained milk production.

The cooperative sector in Kerala, with around 3,000 dairy cooperatives and 3 lakh member farmers, has provided much strength to the sector. Daily milk procurement stands at around 1.8 million litres and nearly eight lakh families make a living out of dairying. The State produces 70.65 lakh litres of milk a day, and the annual production stands at 25.79 lakh tonnes.

The conference is jointly organised by the Department of Dairy Development and the National Dairy Development Board. Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh lauded the role of dairy farmers in the country in achieving India’s present status as the world’s leading milk producer.

The three-day meet is attended by around 1,000 delegates and 500 dairy farmers. The theme of the conference was ‘Modernisation of the dairy sector’, said the organisers in a press release.