Mitigating carbon emissions through innovations in animal husbandry and dairying

    07-Jul-2021
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Atul Chaturvedi
Contd from previous issue
The most prominent events to showcase the efforts were held on the 2nd of October in the form of awareness generation plays (nukkad), programs on radio, articles on print media, etc. Consequently, an increasing number of dairy companies are now adopting the ‘100% Recyclable Plastic’ stamp on their milk pouches. It is further heartening to witness public declarations by a leading player like Amul to set a target of getting at least 50 percent of their post-consumer waste recycled through collaborations with waste management companies in Gujarat. Likewise, there are ongoing efforts to replicate the recycling models in all the major cities where the company operates. When bigger players in the ecosystem take the lead, then it has a ripple effect and encourages other companies to follow suit. As a result, in the past couple of years, an increasing number of dairy companies have begun selling valued added products like ice cream, and curd in paper cups, and have replaced plastic spoons with wooden spoons.
In the context of tree plantation, the initiatives by the Central Cattle Breeding Farm have been noteworthy. In addition to other initiatives in the field of conservation, the institution, carried out a robust drive under which more than 2000 saplings were planted around its premises. Finally, a prominent scheme that must be mentioned is the Gobardhan scheme, under which the Central government has been working earnestly for better management of cattle waste and converting them into biogas and organic manure in a bid to improve the lives and income of farmers. The government has launched Unified Portal of Gobardhan to track the progress of the scheme in real time.
Thus, all the above-mentioned schemes and initiatives underscore the commitment of the Govt towards reducing the carbon footprint of all the sectors affiliated to dairying and animal husbandry. Continued efforts in this direction, will enhance productivity, traceability, and yield higher return on investment for our farmers. The author is Secretary at the Ministry of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.