Budget24: India largest milk producer in world but productivity remains low, says Nirmala Sitharaman
Budget 2024: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Thursday that India became the world's largest producer of milk but continues to struggle with low productivity of milch-animal. The minister stressed on the government's effort to support dairy farmers and said a major effort is being made to control foot and mouth disease.
“A comprehensive program for supporting dairy farmers will be formulated. Efforts are already on to control foot and mouth disease. India is the world’s largest milk producer but with low productivity of milch animals. The program will be built on the success of existing schemes such as Rashtriya Gokul Mission, National Livestock Mission, and Infrastructure Development Funds for dairy processing and animal husbandry," Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget 2024 speech.
Self-reliance in oilseeds production
The minister additionally announced plans to formulate a strategy for achieving self-reliance in oilseed production. Furthermore, there will be heightened endeavors directed towards value addition in the agriculture sector, with a concurrent focus on elevating farmers' income, as stated by the minister.
"Building on the initiative announced in 2022, a strategy will be formulated to achieve ‘atmanirbharta’ for oil seeds such as mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean, and sunflower. This will cover research for high-yielding varieties, widespread adoption of modern farming techniques, market linkages, procurement, value addition, and crop insurance," Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech.
