Press Release
Jaipur, 25 October: Rajasthan, which has the distinction of being the second largest producer of the milk in the country, is also making a mark in the production of ‘organic milk’. In fact, the ‘organic milk’ is gradually becoming a trend in the State. While the regular milk has the A1 protein the organic milk is rich in A2 type of beta-casein protein. Today, Rajasthan’s seven types of indigenous cattle are rich in A2 protein.
According to the Director, Animal Husbandry, Dr. Ajay Kumar Gupta : “The demand for organic milk in Rajasthan is increasing. It is high and the supply isn’t enough so we are encouraging farmers to opt for milk production business. We have many Indian breeds which give A2 milk if taken care properly. In Rajasthan, Gir breed of cow is very successful in the production of organic milk. The Animal Husbandry Department is always on its toes to help anybody who wants to get into this business.”
In the 3-day ‘Global Rajasthan Agritech Meet 2016’ (GRAM) – one of the special highlights of the section of livestock and dairy will be the organic milk. It is to be noted that two ventures in Rajasthan which are producing organic milk are going from strength to strength as the demand for such milk increases. Located at Pushkar (Surbhi Organic milk) and Bhilwara (Shivam Gau Sanvardhan Sanstha) – their promoters are successfully doing the business of organic milk. In fact, they are motivating other farmers to opt for this business. Both the firms providing organic milk have been only feeding organic fodder to their cows to maintain the quality. They grow the fodder at their farms to produce chemical free fodder for the cows.
While the non-organic milk is Rs 50 to Rs 60 litre, the price of organic milk is around Rs 80 to Rs. 90 per litre. The market price fororganic ghee is Rs 1800 per kg, however, its demand is gradually increasing.
The second largest milk producing State in India has the fifth-largest cattle population and some of the finest breeds of milch and draught cattle. Livestock sector contributes to about 10% of the state’s GDP and hence this sector becomes critical for investment for the state. The milk production in the state was around 17,000 mn tonnes (12% of India’s total milk produce) in 2015. This milkproduce is facilitated by a pool of 13,000 cooperative societies headed by a state level apex organization, RCDF (Rajasthan Co-Operative Dairy Federation or “Saras”).