SHILLONG: The state government will embark on a mission to plug the gap in demand and supply of milk in the state by enhancing the milk production in the next five years.
Speaking at the first ever National Milk Day celebration here on Monday, Additional Chief Secretary and Agriculture Production Commissioner, KN Kumar said that there is not enough milk for consumption in the state even though the state has a large cattle wealth.
“Our state’s milk production used to be about 64,000 MT in 2001-2002 and in the last decade or so, we have been able to raise it to 82,000 MT which is an increase of 26.6 per cent.”
Stating that the per capita milk consumption in the state is very low presently, he pointed that as urbanization progresses, the consumption of milk also goes up. “One estimate could say that we are increasing our per capita milk consumption by about 3 per cent every year. In Meghalaya, the milk availability per capita (per head) is 83 grams per day whereas the Indian Council of Medical Research indicates that at least 220 grams per day should be consumed by every person, more so by children,” he said.
Stating that dairy farming has been attracting more farmers in Meghalaya, Kumar said dairy farming in the state is comparable to Switzerland in many respects due to the highly suitable climatic conditions.
Almost 97 per cent of the cattle are nondescript, indigenous and local and just about 13,000 cows of Meghalaya are cross-bred and they produce 62 per cent of the total milk.
Through the Meghalaya Milk Mission and with funding support from the National Cooperatives Development Corporation (NCDC), the state government proposed to mobilise and organise dairy cooperatives throughout the entire state.
“We will be inducting 10,000 indigenous cattle and about 2000 farmers will be directly benefitted with the initiative of the state government,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister in charge of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Prestone Tynsong assured that in the early part of 2019, the state government will increase the production of milk as far as Shillong city is concerned.
“Today we produce 10,000-13000 litres of milk per day. By early next year, we would like the production to reach 50,000 litres per day,” he said.
The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) will provide Rs 215 crore to the state government during the current financial year to enhance milk production.
He added every nook and corner of the state will be transformed through the milk mission.
“The programme that the state government has already decided is that during the current financial year along with the NCDC, we are going to set up one ranch farming and we have already identified a place where we want to develop community participation,” Tynsong said.
The government has identified a village where about not less than 95 per cent of the population of that area manages cattle rearing as their livelihood in which milk is produced conventionally.
Lamenting that adulteration in food items has become the order of the day, he said that the quality and the specifications for milk have to be strictly adhered to and the law will intervene if the specifications are not followed.
‘Food Security, nutritional insecurity’
Kumar bemoaned that the state is struggling to achieve nutritional security even though the state has reasonable food security.
“There is a difference between food becoming available and nutrition becoming available; there is a big gap between the two,” he said.
He said, according to the fourth National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 44 per cent of Meghalaya’s children are stunted and 15 per cent of food is wasted.
“To meet the protein requirements of children and adults especially in rural areas, milk is a very valuable addition to the traditional diets,” Kumar added.
Prestone’s memory of milk tea
Tynsong recalled his first taste of milk when he drank a cup of milk tea at a stall in Iew Mawlong.
He recalled that as a child he had never heard the word ‘milk’ as he would take black tea.
Later, while studying in Shillong, he was introduced to milk tea for the first time by a friend.
