India accounts for 23% of world milk production, says GB Pant University VC

Dr Manmohan Singh Chauhan, vice-chancellor, GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, said that the industry contributes only 5% to the national economy and directly supports more than 8 crore farmers

Increasing land degradation, global warming, erosion of animal and plant genetic resources, livestock-mediated environmental pollution, severe water shortages, and the threat of emerging infectious diseases pose several new challenges to sustainable animal production and food security in the country, said Dr Manmohan Singh Chauhan, vice-chancellor, GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand.

Delivering his speech on Dr KK Iya Memorial Oration at ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal, Chauhan presented a detailed discussion on the topic “Reproductive Biotechnologies for Addressing Productivity Challenges in Dairy Sector”. He said that meeting the increasing demand for animal products while protecting natural resources and the wider environment was also one of the major challenges before the dairy sector.

Chauhan said that the dairy industry in India is the largest in the world accounting for 23% of global milk production.

He said that the industry contributes only 5% to the national economy and directly supports more than 8 crore farmers. Chauhan, however, said that India’s dairy industry has grown significantly over the past 10 years as the country’s milk production increased at a compound annual growth rate of 6.2% from 146.31 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 209.96 MT in 2020-21.

“The ongoing move to use molecular markers in conjunction with reproduction technologies such as AI and in vitro production of embryos is likely to accelerate further genetic change to obtain animals with desired traits”, he added.

Dheer Singh, director and vice-chancellor of ICAR-NDRI presided over the event attended by 700 scientists, staff and students of the institute.