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47th Dairy Industry Conference was successfully organized by the Bihar State Chapter of IDA (East Zone) at the newly constituted Samrat Ashoka International Convention Kendra, Patna. In our memory, this Conference and all the functions were organized in a very meticulous manner. About 3500 delegates participated in the Conference.
The Indian Dairy Association is pleased to inform all the readers of “Indian Dairyman” that the 47th Dairy Industry Conference was successfully organized by the Bihar State Chapter of IDA (East Zone) at the newly constituted Samrat Ashoka International Convention Kendra, Patna. In our memory, this Conference and all the functions were organized in a very meticulous manner. About 3500 delegates participated in the Conference. The Conference was inaugurated by Shri Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar and addressed by Shri Sushil Kumar Modi, Deputy Chief Minister and Shri Pashupati Kumar Paras, Minister of State for Animal Husbandry & Fisheries, Bihar.
Shri Dilip Rath, Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board, delivered an elegant Keynote Address and recommended the introduction of innovative practices, new technologies product development and process improvement for achieving great efficiency across the dairy value chain from farm to retail point to increase farmers' income. Concerted efforts are being made to develop new generation producer owned cooperative institutions to ensure fair and transparent operations at milk collection points and to bolster the trust and confidence of dairy farmers for pouring large amount of surplus milk for getting food returns.
After the Inaugural function, the Farmers’ Session was organized with addresses from persons of eminence like Dr. R.S. Sodhi, Managing Director, GCMMF; Shri Sanjay Kumar, Chairman of Vaishal Patliputra Dugdh Utpadak Sahakari Sangh; Shri Shyam Shankar Prasad Thakur of Mithila Milk Union Ltd., Samastipur (Bihar); besides Dr. B.S. Meena, and three other Principal Scientists of NDRI, Karnal. Dr. Omveer Singh, Managing Director, NDDB Dairy Services, chaired the Farmers’ Session. The issues raised by the farmers were discussed with assurances that dairying will play a very important role in multiplying farmers’ income.
The Conference got splitted into three parallel Sessions on Day 2 during which 11 technical sessions were organized. The Sessions on important subjects like Breeding Strategies for Sustainable Animal Production System, Harnessing value addition prospects for greater profitability & Sustainability, Positioning India in global dairy trade with new innovations, Optimizing animal feed resources for enhancing animal productivity and Milk quality, Mechanized manufacture of traditional dairy products, Role of finance, insurance and women in dairy enterprise, animal health programmes critical for dairy trade, farm automation and decision support system for precision dairy farming, quality assurance, Dairy supply chain: Farm to Fork, New paradigms in dairy education & skill development, model farming systems for eastern and north-eastern India and Buffalo dairy farming : Boon for the future.
Two Industry Sessions were also organized to show case the industrial growth in equipment manufacturing, automation and its instrumentation. A very impressive exhibition was also organized in which 142 national and international exhibitors participated with great fanfare. Poster sessions were also organized to communicate recent developments in dairy research in the area of production, processing and marketing.
Two cultural evenings on Day 1 and 2 depicting the Eastern India culture and traditions were largely attended by the participants and greatly enjoyed. This was indeed a mega event of a very high order.
We were happy to welcome many participants from abroad including that of Ms. Caroline Emond, Director General, International Dairy Federation, Brussels.
Elsewhere in this journal, readers will find the recommendations that emerged from the 47th DIC. I would solicit your comments and support to carry forward the recommendations.