New Delhi. Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah chaired an important meeting in New Delhi today on sustainability and circularity in the cooperative dairy sector. The meeting was attended by Union Minister of State for Cooperation Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar and Shri Murlidhar Mohol, Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperation Dr Ashish Kumar Bhutani, Secretary of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying Smt. Alka Upadhyaya, Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) Dr. Meenesh Shah, and Chairman of NABARD Shri Shaji KV.
Taking forward the mantra of “Sahkar se Samriddhi” of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, it was decided to establish three new multi-state cooperative societies for the cooperative dairy sector. The first society will focus on ‘animal feed production, disease control and artificial insemination’, the second will promote ‘developing cow dung management models’ and the third will promote ‘circular use of dead cattle remains’.
Addressing the meeting, the Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that as we move towards White Revolution 2.0, our goal should not only be to expand dairy cooperatives and make them efficient and effective but also to create an ecosystem of dairy that is sustainable and promotes a circular economy. He said that if farmers’ income is to be increased, we must create a network of integrated cooperatives where most of the work is done through mutual cooperation and collaboration among cooperatives.
Shri Amit Shah stressed the importance of ensuring that the direct benefits of carbon credits reach farmers through scientific models. He also highlighted the need to strengthen milk unions and cooperative societies and encourage food processing in dairy plants. These efforts will not only increase farmers’ income but also prove to be a significant step toward making the dairy sector more sustainable and environment friendly.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation stated that cooperation is the core mantra of rural development, and the cooperative dairy sector is an excellent example, providing a vital source of livelihood for millions of rural families. He emphasized that dairy cooperative societies play a crucial role in the Indian dairy sector through milk production and marketing. These societies are strengthening the rural economy by providing small farmers with stable markets, credit facilities, veterinary services, and breeding support, while also empowering women by increasing their participation.
Shri Amit Shah said that we have to travel together from ‘Sustainability to Circularity’ which will be multi-dimensional and the work that the private sector is doing today will be done by the farmers’ own cooperatives. This includes technical services, animal feed, artificial insemination, animal disease control, dung management and activities from collection to processing in dairy and agriculture related sectors.
Referring to successful cooperative models like Amul, the Minister of Cooperation said that the vision of “Sahkar Se Samriddhi” is being realised today and “Cooperation among Cooperatives” is playing an important role in this. He informed that the Ministry of Cooperation, in collaboration with various ministries and stakeholders, is not only taking this success forward in the dairy sector, but is also expanding and strengthening the village level cooperatives by connecting them with other activities. Shri Shah said that all these efforts will prove helpful in achieving the goal of developed India of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in an integrated manner.
Shri Amit Shah said that the Ministry of Cooperation and the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying have brought all stakeholders together, so that now the work of policy making, financing, formation of village level cooperatives and making them multipurpose is taking place a fast pace. NDDB has done very important work in the field of sustainability and the biogas and cow dung management program developed by them is being expanded across the country. He said that this needs to be taken further.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation praised the national institutions working for the upliftment of cooperatives like National Cooperative Development Corporation, National Dairy Development Board, NABARD etc. He said that under the guidance of the Central Government, their mutual cooperation will definitely strengthen cooperatives and farmer-centric schemes will be implemented all over India.
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