Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate ‘IDF World Dairy Summit 2022’ at Greater Noida next Monday wherein more than 1,500 delegates (including 300 from abroad) from 50 countries are expected to participate, according to Union Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Minister Parshottam Rupala.
Addressing media about the upcoming event, to be held in Greater Noida in the national capital region, he said the theme of the 4-day event is ‘Dairy for Nutrition and Livelihood’.
Besides the Prime Minister, cooperation minister Amit Shah and other union ministers too will be addressing the summit, Rupala said adding chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat would also join the global event.
Last time India hosted the International Dairy Congress in 1974. World Dairy Summit is an annual global event in the sector. “India is number one in milk production and accounts for 23 per cent of the global output. Foreign delegates would be sharing their experience and talk about latest technologies in the dairy sector. We would tell them about our experience,” Rupala said.
Citing that co-operative major Amul alone pays about ₹150 crore everyday to farmers for procurement of milk, he said adding the world must know that 80-85 per cent of the income from sale of milk is passed on to dairy farmers in India.
Meenesh Shah, acting chairman of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), said that 700-800 farmers from the country will also be taking part in the event. India will showcase the transformational journey through a unique smallholder dairying primarily based on co-operative model. In the annual domestic production of 220 million tonne of milk, about eight crore dairy farmers, mostly small and marginal having average two bovines, play an important role.