Gujarat has been consistently clocking impressive agricultural growth rates. This has been possible because the government has focused on improving not only irrigation, quality of seeds and power but also tertiary sectors like animal husbandry. The growth of the animal husbandry sector has resulted not only in increased milk production but has also provided a boost to the overall agro-economy of the state.
White Revolution:
The state government under the visionary leadership of Shri Modi has played a pivotal role in strengthening the dairy sector of Gujarat..
The cooperative sector has been the key driver of the tremendous increase in Gujarat’s milk production. It is no surprise that Gujarat, the birthplace of India’s white revolution, has a thriving milk cooperative sector. The largest dairy co-operative in India, Amul, is based in Anand, Gujarat.
The milk cooperative sector in Gujarat started in 1942 with one milk cooperative union and only two producers. Today, it has grown impressively and includes 16,100 unions with 3.20 million milk producers contributing milk twice a day. Nearly 11-lakh cattle owners in Kathiawar and Kutch region are a part of this cooperative sector. Furthermore, women, have played an integral part in ushering in this white revolution. The number of milk societies formed and run by women has jumped from 800 to 2,250. In the last ten years, the share of cooperatives has increased from 46 lakh litres to 100 lakh litres per day, in value terms from 2400 crore to 12, 250 crore over a period of 10 years.
Talking about the White Revolution, Shri Modi said, “In Gujarat, the milk production has increased by 68% in the last decade. I can proudly say today that the Delhi government won't get tea unless Gujarat provides milk to it.”
Because of Government efforts, Gujarat today is not only self – sufficient but Gujarat’s dairies send 20 lakh litres of milk to Delhi, 8 lakh liters to Mumbai and 5 lakh liters to Kolkata, along with supplying milk powder to our armed forces.
Krishi Mahotsav and Animal Husbandry
Shri Modi, in all his speeches, emphasizes the importance of innovation and scientific approach. This vision of his extends to the agriculture and animal husbandry sectors and has resulted in the formulation of the
Krishi Mahotsav, an annual event. The
Krishi Mahotsav aims to promote scientific farming techniques and has truly revolutionized the agriculture and animal husbandry sectors in Gujarat. During
Krishi Mahotsavs,
‘Krishi Raths’ which, incorporate a multi-disciplinary team of scientists, horticulturists & agriculturists visit Gujarat’s villages to train and educate the farmers. This initiative has substantially benefitted the Animal Husbandry sector.
During one of his speeches, the CM said, “The government, during the last ten years, has organized 25,000 health camps. As many as 112 diseases among cattle have been eradicated.”
Cattle Well-Being: Animal hostel, Provision of Cattle Fodder, Cataract Operations
Milk Production depends on the well-being of the cattle. The Government of Gujarat has focussed on providing adequate cattle-care facilities to the people of Gujarat. India’s first animal hostel was inaugurated in Akodara village of Sabarkantha district. The animal hostel aims to provide shelter to the animals in villages and is based on a public-private partnership model. The animal hostel will not only boost milk production, but it will also lessen the stress on the women of the village, as they will not need to remain engaged with their cattle for the whole day.
Additionally, the Government of Gujarat has undertaken initiatives to ensure the provision of adequate cattle fodder. Speaking at last year’s Krishi Mahotsav, Shri Modi said, “Gone are the days when the cattle owners used to migrate from the drought-prone regions in the state for greener pasture almost every summer. The government has undertaken a project to grow fodder on 67,000 hectares in the Banni region in Kutch.”
Additionally, the Government has created 185 new veterinary clinics to facilitate door-step animal healthcare.
Protecting
Gau maata – taking a strong stand against the UPAs pink revolution
Shri Modi has time and again taken a strong stand against the Union Government’s policy of exporting beef. Talking about the UPA’s beef export policy, Shri Modi said, “While Gujarat is heading towards green and white revolutions, Union Government has adopted a policy of encouraging 'pink revolution. Such anti-peasant policy would ruin the agriculture sector that is mainly supported by animal husbandry. Gujarat will never tolerate such an anti-farmer policy.”
Additionally, the Government has set up a Gau-seva aayog for the well-being of the
gau maata.
The Government of Gujarat passed a special law to ban cow slaughter and ensure the protection of cows. Furthermore, to guarantee overall good-health of cows, the Government of Gujarat organized Cataract-treatment camps. Shedding further light on this issue, Shri Modi wrote on his blog, “Our work does not stop at preventing killing of mother cow but to also ensure their wellbeing. This inspired us to organize cataract operations for cows.”
