Milma chairman calls for new ideas to boost milk production

The country’s dairy sector must seek novel methods to strengthen milk production and attract more entrepreneurs as well as investors, according to K.S. Mani, chairman, Milma.

Production cost must be curtailed amid efforts to improve the quality of milk, he said at the 49th Dairy Industry Conference and Exhibition 2023 at Gandhinagar in Gujarat recently.

To achieve this dual target, authorities must ensure improved health of the cattle, while bringing down pollution and optimising the number of workers, Mr. Mani pointed out in his presentation on ‘Animal Husbandry Innovations’ at the event.

Cattle should gain stronger immunity against diseases, while infertility issues must be lessened through better artificial insemination, he noted at the conference organised by the Indian Dairy association in collaboration with its Gujarat chapter. “Cows must get special care during their initial stage of pregnancy,” he noted. “Attention needs to be given to the quality of cattle-feed and fertilisers. We must accord importance to the medicines administered to the cattle, cleanliness of their sheds and scientific nature of breeding.”

Listing certain bovine diseases among cattle, Mr. Mani stressed the need to carry out effective measures to contain lumpy skin, brucellosis, theileriosis, and mastitis. New diagnosis systems must be developed, the cattle need to be equipped with stronger resistance against micro-organisms, and provided better care against inflammation of the udder. The ethno-veterinary medicines brought out by Malabar Milma are helping in bringing down the use of antibiotics for cattle, he added.

The feed for cattle ought to be comprehensive yet economical, Mr. Mani said. He stressed the need for low-cost cattle-sheds and updated technologies to generate energy and value-added products from cow-dung. Mechanisation can help improve not just the quality of milk at a lower cost of production, but also the cleanliness in cattle-sheds, he added.