‘ Treat dairy farmers on par with other farmers’

MUMBAI: Milk and animal husbandry has been treated differently from crops even though it comes under agriculture and allied activities, stated R S Sodhi, Managing Director, GCMMF.

Thus, he urged the government at least in this union budget 2021-2022 to recognise dairy farmers as equals.

“In the case of dair y and animal husbandry farmers, there are 100 million farmers and 80 per cent are landless and marginal. Atleast, an agriculture farmer has some parcel of land.” So, the agriculture farmers are better placed than those landless farmers, yet benefits usually are given to agriculture farmers, Sodhi added. “Animal husbandry is contributing 27 per cent to agriculture husbandry.”

In addition, he said, with passing day the contribution of agriculture to GDP is decreasing and animal husbandry is increasing. “But when it comes to allocation of funds, animal husbandry gets step motherly treatment.”

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