Economics of milk: An anlysis

Over the last four decades, while India has made tremendous progress in food production, the growth in agriculture sector has hovered around three percent. The contribution of agriculture to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has also declined steadily. On the other hand, the contribution of the livestock sector to the overall GDP has been consistent at a rate of five percent during the last three decades. Today, the livestock sector contributes over 25 percent of the output of the agriculture sector.

As per available statistics, the holding size of 58 percent of rural households in India is less than two hectare while another 32 percent are landless. However, they own 75 percent of the country's livestock resources and almost half of the income of this class comes from livestock. Thus, the livestock sector is regarded by many as one of the most pro-poor sectors with any positive development translating into increased income and employment to millions across the country. The landless and marginal farmers are also able to produce at a very low cost, thereby making their product highly competitive in the market.

Right from the earliest times working and living together that is through co-operation mark the progress and development of human beings in all spheres -social, economic, religious and political. Co-operatives are “autonomous associations of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic and social needs through jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprises.” Any association of persons, or of societies, shall be recognized as a co-operative society, provided that it has for its object the economic and social betterment of its members by means of an enterprise based on mutual aid, and that it conforms to the ICA Statement on the Co-operative Identity, as approved by the General Assembly of the ICA or a co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.

Co-operatives are based on the values of transparency, self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, co-operative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.