In 3 years, farmers' income increased by 14%: Minister

Hailing the contribution of dairy farmers, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh on Thursday said that India is a world leader in milk production for the past 15 years and this achievement is primarily due to the contribution of smallholder dairy farmers, milk producers, milk processing and marketing organisations.

Even though considerable progress has been made in milk production, the country still has miles to cover in order to provide milk-based nutrition support to all the children, Singh said at an event organised to celebrate World Milk Day here.

Between the years 2014-17, milk production increased by 16.9 per cent to 465.5 million tonnes as compared to 398 million tonnes during 2011-14. Similarly, in the year 2014-17, the income of farmers increased by 13.79 per cent to Rs 33 per litre as compared to Rs 29 per litre during 2011-14.

The minister informed the audience that in order to increase the productivity of indigenous cattle, the allocation for preservation and development of domestic breeds has been increased manifold.

It's for the first time that an initiative called Rashtriya Gokul Mission has been taken with an objective to preserve and develop indigenous bovine, he said.