It’s milking well, but still not a bucketful

PANJIM: Though the State government’s initiatives of providing cattle meals and other sops to farmers are fetching results in the form of increase in the milk production, the State has a long way to go in being self sufficient through this white revolution. For now, the State has managed to meet almost 50 percent of its milk requirement of around 3.50 lakh litres a day. 

Besides, the State’s total milk collection has doubled over the last eight years, after being stagnant between 35,000-36,000 litres per day for nearly a decade till 2010-11. 

Goa’s total milk production at present is around 1.50 lakh litres per day, whereas the total requirement is of 3.50 lakh litres. The State’s milk collection from Goa Dairy, Sumul and other dairy farms currently is around 78,000 litres daily. 

Speaking to Herald, Animal Husbandry Director Dr Santosh Desai said that Goa has been able to achieve 50 percent of its total milk requirement and has a long to go to become self-sufficient. “The State’s total population is around 15 lakh with milk requirement of 3.50 lakh litres per day. At present, what we produce is only 1.50 lakh litres per day,” he said. 

Desai said that currently, the State is dependent on Maharashtra and Karnataka to meet its milk requirements. “The rise in output has given a boost to the State’s vision of becoming self-sufficient in milk production,” he said. 

On the milk collection front there has been a consistent rise since 2011-12. The figures show that the average milk collection per day for the year 2011-12 was 40,000 litres, which went up to 44,000 litres per day in 2012-13 and further rose to 60,000 litres per day in 2013-14. In 2017-18, the milk collection was 78,000 litres per day. For the current financial year, till August end, the average per day collection is 77,000 litres. 

The government’s modified Kamdhenu scheme, in which the State provides financial help to farmers purchasing cross-bred cows, was a major reason for this upswing. Introduced in 2012, around 3581 farmers have taken benefit of the scheme, under which a subsidy amount of Rs 52 crore has been spent. 

“Milk production and collection, which was stagnant for nearly 10-15 years at 35,000 litres per day, has almost doubled up, with annual rise. Kamdhenu scheme has given a major boost to milk production in the State,” the director said.