Kerala has potential to become India’s largest milk producer: Minister
Smt. J Chinchurani inaugurates Milma’s state-level seminar
Trivandrum / October 11, 2025
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct. 11: Noting that Kerala has the potential to become India’s largest milk producer, Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development, Smt. J Chinchurani said that the State Government has been implementing various initiatives to achieve that goal by increasing milk production.
Smt Chinchurani was speaking after inaugurating the one-day state-level seminar, jointly organised by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (KCMMF), known by brand Milma, here today to mark the International Year of Cooperatives as declared by the United Nations.
“Prosperity Through Cooperation” was the theme of the seminar, which also coincides with the diamond jubilee of NDDB.
The Minister noted that currently Kerala stands second behind Punjab in milk production and there is an immense scope for the state to move to the top position.
“The state faces certain hindrances in dairy sector and feed production due to land scarcity. The new projects are aimed at overcoming such constraints. These include expanding the area for growing feeding grass and make it available to farmers,” she said.
Smt Chinchurani informed that the digital livestock and e-health management system e-Samrudha, piloted in Pathanamthitta district, will be extended across the state.
She said the state aims to attain self-sufficiency through measures like slashing milk production cost and enhancing productivity. “We need to ensure sustainable growth in the sector. Increasing productivity, buttressing marketing network and leveraging latest technologies are the key to achieve that aim,” Smt Chinchurani added.
Citing the contribution of NDDB in the growth of dairy sector and lauding its timely intervention during Wayanad landslide tragedy, the Minister said all of its initiatives will help dairy cooperatives in Kerala make a significant progress.
In his message to the event, Minister for Cooperation, Ports and Devaswoms, Shri V N Vasavan, highlighted the importance of cooperatives in Kerala society and said Milma’s cooperative initiative has changed the livelihood of many farmers.
NDDB Chairman Dr. Meenesh C Shah, who presided over the function, said “The country is ready for White Revolution-2, which essentially means making the milk cooperatives stronger and adding more farmers to the network”.
It also aims to increase country-wide milk procurement by cooperatives to more than 10 crore litres of milk per day in four or five years, Dr Shah said, adding that over eight crore farmers in the dairy sector has contributed significantly in making the country self-sufficient and the largest milk producer.
He urged farmers to be aware of the challenges like adulteration of milk and dairy products, and emphasized the need to increase the share of organised milk market, which stands at around 32-35 percent.
In his presentation on Milma’s role in empowering dairy cooperative sector and fostering sustainability in dairy sector, Chairman Shri K S Mani said the total turnover of Milma in 2024-25 stood at Rs 4327.24 crore and by 2030, Milma targets an annual turnover of Rs 10,052 crore with a15 percent increase annually.
“Several projects are lined up to empower milk cooperative societies. But they also try to increase milk production, besides ensuring quality and productivity,” Shri Mani suggested.
On future plans, Shri Mani said efforts are on for making Milma’s products available on cruise ships, harbours and in airports. He said Milma’s vending machines will be set up at 25 metro stations in Kochi by Ernakulam Regional Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union (ERCMPU).
Shri S Rajeev, Executive Director, NDDB; Thiruvananthapuram Regional Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union (TRCMPU) Chairperson, Smt. Mani Viswanath; ERCMPU Chairman Shri. Valsalan Pillai C N; Smt Shalini Gopinath, Director, Dairy Development Department; Kerala Bank CEO Shri Jorty M Chacko; and Milma MD, Shri Asif K Yusuf, spoke at the inaugural session.
Milma Director Board Members Shri K.R. Mohanan Pillai, Shri Beena P.V., Shri Sathyan T.N, Shri Johnson K.K., Shri Tara Unnikrishnan, Srinivasan P., Shri Narayanan P.P., Shri Koran K were also present. Shri Sreedhar V, Senior General Manager, NDDB, proposed a vote of thanks.
Awards for the Best Dairy Cooperative Societies were distributed at the function where Parisakkal APCOS, Palakkad from Malabar Regional Co-operative Milk Producers' Union (MRCMPU) received the first prize. Maneed APCOS from ERCMPU got second prize while Uchakkada APCOS from TRCMPU bagged third prize.
In the Best Farmer category, Saju JS (TRCMPU) emerged first while Jince Kurian (ERCMPU) and Priya K (MRCMPU) came second and third respectively.
Joseph E J (MRCMPU) was declared first in the Best AI Technician category whereas Roy Scaria (ERCMPU) and Rajeev J (TRCMPU) came second and third.
The topics discussed at the seminar were aligned well with the UN theme “Cooperatives Build a Better World.” Sectoral stakeholders and experts from Milma, State Dairy Development Department, NABARD, Kerala Bank, Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS) and NS Cooperative Hospital made presentations and led sessions on topics related to the cooperatives sector.
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