A day after agriculture minister Sharad Pawar created a big furore over his reported comment on milk prices, Planning Commission member Abhijit Sen on Thursday said that the minister might have been misquoted.
?He (Sharad Pawar) was making a long-run statement about how milk production needs to go up. In that context, he said prices of milk haven?t changed in a long time, while at the same time the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat has gone up from Rs 600 per quintal to Rs 1,100 per quintal,? Sen said.
The agriculture minister himself denied that there is any proposal to hike milk prices.
Meanwhile, Sen, who on Thursday received a report of a high powered committee on animal husbandry and dairying, said it was extremely important to redouble efforts to increase milk production.
?We should also be aware that if large shortages are likely to come up in the short run, then management has to be forward looking,? the Planning Commission member said.
The 10-member committee constituted by the Planning Commission to give a boost to the animal husbandry and dairying sectors in the country under the chairmanship of president of Indian Dairy Association has said that too many schemes being implemented by the department of animal husbandry and dairying are difficult to monitor and should be replaced by focused well developed approach.
?There are over 24 schemes being implemented by the DAHD, which make them difficult to monitor and should be replaced,? the report said.
It also suggested that the major emphasis of most of these schemes were on improving the genetic make up and providing animal health facilities without regard to development of feed and fodder resources.
?In future the approach should be on improving the fodder resources along with improvement in productivity,? the committee said, adding that it feels that technology transfer and extension should receive high priority in animal husbandry and dairying sector to ensure high growth.
The committee also suggested that centrals sector and centrally sponsored scheme in futures should be taken up in three distinct streams. The first stream should comprise of five schemed of national importance like cattle and buffalo breeding or development project, national livestock extension programme and national project on control of animal diseases.
The second stream could comprise of schemes of regional importance on species specific or state specific projects like development of dairy sector, sheep, goats and pigs in north-eastern states, support for establishment of disease investigation laboratories, support for control of zoonotic diseases.
?The schemes under this stream would be prepared by the states and sanctioned by the central government like the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and pattern of assistance would be 75:25 cost sharing basis between central government and states,? the committee suggested.
The committee said the third stream would cover schemes implemented through Nabard as venture capital fund.
It also suggested that existing schemes like operation flood and non-operation flood for implementation of venture capital fund should be abolished. The committee also suggested number of institutional and structural reforms for achieving high growth rate in the sector.
?Our production growth is not as high as we would like and we should make all efforts to get to our goal in the next two years of the Plan,? Abhijit Sen said.