Punjab has managed to give a new lease of life to dairying as an allied agriculture activity by being the first state in the country to go in for commercial dairy farms. This has helped in the economic upliftment of dairy farmers as well as increasing milk production in the state.
This has been the observation of the Advisory Committee on Animal Husbandry and Dairying, formed by the Planning Commission to study the status of these two sectors in the entire country. The committee has appreciated the entrepreneurship of the Punjab dairy farmers, and has observed that Punjab can take the lead in ushering a second white revolution in the country. The committee submitted its report to the Planning Commission recently.
In its report, the committee noted that the state is witnessing a silent revolution in animal husbandry and dairying sectors. The committee has also observed that there is likelihood of the growth assuming similar dimensions of the green revolution witnessed in the region during the 1970s. The movement is essentially coming from the dairy farmers in Punjab themselves, in the form of establishment of commercial dairy farms and integrated farming systems in the state.
The committee has noted that the milk sector has currently been witnessing a growth of 3%, with a distinct possibility of furthering this to 6% in the remaining period of the eleventh plan.