DAIRY SECTOR IN RURAL INDIA

Dairy sector is important not only as the producer of highly nutrious products, but also for the sustenance of poor farmers and overall prosperity of the farming community. Dairying, nowadays, has emerged as an important component of the new strategy of rural development. It envisages reduction of poverty, inequality and unemployment via creating a sustained source of income and employment for weaker sections of the rural population.

The present achievement in the India's milk production is the fruitful culmination of the sustained, systematic and intensive efforts made by the Govt. of India through various development programmes over years. The milk production system in the rural india through the implementation of operation flood series (1970-1996) has been further strengthened. The Anand Model co-operatives are sussceful in few States and they could not prove their mettle in other states of the country. All these aspects of our dairy development programmes needs a through understanding and warrants an in-depth analysis.

This book is primarily meant for students, researchers, teachers, professionals, involved in the dairy development work and policy makers concerned with the dairy research, development and planning.

We hope that the discussion made in the book will help the readers to understand various aspects of Indian dairying in a most comprehensive and critical way to face the present and future challenges in the field.