PM Modi to inaugurate IDF WDS 2022 on Sep 12; summit in India 48 years after International Dairy Congress

New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the International Dairy Federation (IDF) World Dairy Summit (WDS) 2022, a congregation of global and Indian dairy industry leaders, experts, farmers and policy planners centring around the theme of ‘Dairy for Nutrition and Livelihood’, in Greater Noida on September 12.

Union Minister of Home and Cooperation Amit Shah and Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Parshottam Rupala will be prominent among those to address the Summit, which is being held 48 years after India hosted the International Dairy Congress in 1974.

Piercristiano Brazzale, President, International Dairy Federation (IDF); Caroline Emond, Director General, IDF; Jatinder Nath Swain, President of the Indian National Committee of IDF (INC-IDF) and Secretary, DAHD; and Meenesh Shah, Secretary, INC-IDF & Chairman, NDDB will coordinate this event.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath Gujarat CM Bhupendrabhai Patel will also grace the occasion.

The four-day long IDF WDS 22 assumes significance as a dominant majority of over 8 crore dairy farmers in India are small and marginal (having at an average 2 bovines). India is the world’s numero uno dairying nation with an output of over 210 MT annually.

This edition of WDS is designed to be a carbon-neutral event. It will have 24 sessions covering different aspects of dairying. Three parallel technical sessions will be held for which more than 150 overseas and Indian speakers have been empanelled. A poster session is also being organized with the theme “Innovations across Dairy Value Chain – Aligning with UN SDGs”.

The inaugural session will begin with prayer – Swasti Vachan Mantra – by artists. A walkthrough anamorphic (3D) audio-visual experience zone at the summit will showcase the evolution of the Indian dairy industry and the accomplishments of the sector. India will showcase its transformational journey through a unique smallholder dairying primarily based on a cooperative strategy. An exhibition space of over 6,900 square metres will be available to the exhibitors for showcasing activities.

IDF WDS 2022 has received an overwhelming response from all across the world. Around 1,500 participants from 50 countries have enrolled for participation in IDF WDS 2022. There is a sizeable number of registrations for physical participation from the US, France, Germany, Canada, New Zealand and Belgium.

WDS will be a great opportunity for dairy farmers, leaders, experts, scientists, professionals, journalists and academics to learn, connect and get inspired. India’s success story will be shared with the world through the IDF WDS, where we can see how dairy is an engine of development and women empowerment.

IDF WDS is an annual meeting of the global dairy sector, bringing together participants from all over the world. The participants’ profile includes CEOs and employees of dairy processing companies, dairy farmers, suppliers to the dairy industry, academicians and government representatives, etc.

India’s dairy sector

India is leading the world dairy sector with a 6 per cent growth, three times the global growth, along with per capita availability of 427 grams per day. Milk is the single largest agricultural commodity in the country — surpassing the combined value of cereals and pulses in terms of the value of output — at Rs 9.32 lakh crore and accounting for 23 per cent of the global share.

Milk production has increased by more than 44 per cent in the last eight years. The appreciation of milk price paid to farmers has been by more than 100 per cent during this period. With a consistent push for GobarDhan, cow dung provides an additional source of income to farmers.

The world’s largest-ever vaccination programme to eradicate Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis started in India in 2019. The country has the largest-ever animal database created — 220 crore animals have been registered and monitored in every aspect. There are about 193mn cattle and 110mn buffaloes. It has the largest-ever budgetary allocation to the dairy sector with a focus on infrastructure upgradation and expansion and productivity enhancement.