Technology in Dairying : A Field of Opportunities

To begin with, it gives me immense pleasure to announce the 49th Dairy Industry Conference to be held on 16th, 17th and 18th March, 2023 at Global Level Exhibition and Event Centre, in Gandhinagar. One of the most awaited annual conferences is returning after a break of 3 years and this time we have ensured that the attendees have a truly enriching experience. There is palpable excitement in the dairy industry, and we can see it translating into an overwhelming response from exhibitors, speakers, sponsors, and the number of registrations coming in. Delegates will get to hear from a range of speakers, addressing various topics from across the spectrum of dairy industry like - product innovations, upcoming dairy trends, digitalization, nutrition, sustainability etc. - with farmer success stories thrown in the mix. Also, we will be joined by the President of International Dairy Federation - Mr. Piercristiano Brazzale & Director General of IDF - Ms. Caroline Emond for the inaugural ceremony. This conference will open a plethora of business and networking opportunities for companies across the world who will be a part of the 3- day exhibition. I cordially invite the members of the dairy fraternity to be a part of the 49th DIC, as we demonstrate the best of the Indian Dairy Industry.

The FY 2022-23 has been a nail-biting year for the Indian Dairy industry. The first 2 quarters witnessed a huge spike in the consumer demand of milk and value-added milk products. The waning impact of the pandemic resulted in a spurt in the institutional demand as well. On the other hand, the sector also took a hit owing to the volatility in the global geopolitical conditions. Despite an increasing demand, the cost pressure was increasing due to the rising feed and fodder prices for dairy farmers. Milk procurement prices began increasing by the end of Q2 FY22. Whereas Q3 brought in an additional hurdle of constricted milk availability in many regions of the country. Elevated packaging and logistics costs were other supplemental factors impacting the increasing retail prices. FY 2022- 23 bears some similarity with the FY 2013-14, when the procurement volumes had shrunk temporarily and consumer as well as trade prices were at an all-time high.

The FY 2022-23 has been a nail-biting year for the Indian Dairy industry. The first 2 quarters witnessed a huge spike in the consumer demand of milk and valueadded milk products. The waning impact of the pandemic resulted in a spurt in the institutional demand as well. On the other hand, the sector also took a hit owing to the volatility in the global geopolitical conditions. Despite an increasing demand, the cost pressure was increasing due to the rising feed and fodder prices for dairy farmers. Milk procurement prices began increasing by the end of Q2 FY22. Whereas Q3 brought in an additional hurdle of constricted milk availability in many regions of the country. Elevated packaging and logistics costs were other supplemental factors impacting the increasing retail prices. FY 2022- 23 bears some similarity with the FY 2013-14, when the procurement volumes had shrunk temporarily and consumer as well as trade prices were at an all-time high.

The infrastructural preparedness of both the private and co-operative players of the dairy sector has helped them navigate through the volatility that the sector witnessed. Moving towards large scale, end-to-end digitization and introducing many farm level innovations were the major steps in this direction. Moreover, it has also positively impacted the supply chain efficiency for the producers as well as the consumers.

To begin with, the primary concern for an individual dairy farmer and for the industry as a whole is cattle productivity. Dairy farmers cough up a lot of money and resources in ensuring that their cattle's health remains on track and bovine productivity keeps increasing with every lactation cycle. Many big players in the market have come up with animal health tracker devices that track and monitor cattle behaviors, milking patterns, pregnancies, and any other deviations on real time basis. Companies and co-operatives are trying to include as many dairy farmers as possible under the ambit of monitoring to provide essential medical assistance to the dairy farmers at the right time and precisely predict the volumes of milk production on a large scale.

Also, the monitoring devices can further be used in knowing the nutritional requirements of each cattle based on their status in the life cycle. Formulated feed additives, supplements, premixes are timely being suggested to the dairy farmers to increase the milk yield. For instance, the National Dairy Development Board has invested in bypass protein technology that produces protein supplements for improving the quality and quantity of milk yield from cattle.

There are many co-operative biggies that have been investing in providing modern dairy farm equipment to the producer members. In an attempt to reduce manual intervention and increase the hygiene of milk at the first stage of collection, many farmers are being introduced to robotic milking machines. These machines not only ease the process of milk collection from the cattle but also automatically clean and sanitize the animal once the process of milking is over, thus moving a step forward in enhancing animal hygiene.

Along with improved milk yields, the major challenge for the Indian dairy sector is to increase the milk cooling infrastructure. According to the National Action Plan of the government for 2022, there is still a requirement of more than 8 lakh milk coolers, especially in the Indian hinterland, to reduce wastage of milk. This can be looked at as a daunting challenge, but also a significant opportunity.

On the other end of the supply chain are technological advancements that have strengthened the consumer connect of dairy companies. Companies are now using big data to identify the consumption and buying patterns. Dairy organizations have been tracking primary, secondary and in some cases even tertiary sales of their products, to accurately predict purchase behaviors. Simultaneously, technology is also driving the way companies keep up with the evolving palette of the Indian consumer and come up with new products matching the taste profile. Working in collaboration with the digital market places, dairy companies in India have leveraged the need for convenience of the Indian consumers and have enabled door step delivery of perishable products as well.

Animal genetics is yet another field that is being touted as the most disrupting technological advancement for the sector. Accuracy in predicting livestock diseases, development of new and more efficient immunization drives for disease management and artificial insemination are areas where the real potential of the study of animal genetics lies.

Dairying as a sector is quite complex owing to the number of factors that impact the supply chain efficiency. While the industry has grown leaps and bounds in incorporating digitization in its operations, there are number of areas that still have a lot of scope for technological interventions. Because a sizable portion of the Indian dairy sector still consists of small-scale farmers, unorganized companies that lack the resources, accessibility, and knowledge to implement the technology, most dairy technologies now face adoption difficulties in India. The good news is that India has already started the dairy technological revolution, and it will soon be commonplace to use these technologies.

Looking back at the progress of dairying and animal husbandry in India, the resilience of the Indian dairy farmers astonishes us. If India can overcome all of its obstacles to become the greatest milk producer in the world, we can only imagine where our dairy industry will be in the next 25 years if we provide our dairy farmers with the infrastructure, equipment, and assistance they require.