Enabling efficient supply chain in dairying using GIS: a case of private dairy industry in Andhra Pradesh State.

Abstract

The Indian dairy industry has been through an evolution in India and many innovations in agricultural field has been successful in dairying first. It has come a long way over the years from milk production of 21.2 million tonnes in 1968-69 to 121 million tonnes in 2010-11. Steadily and firmly, it has cruised to become numero uno in the list of milk producing countries and this success story has been scripted by the small holder milk producers. Today, the Indian dairy industry stands at a mammoth size of US$ 70 billion. Moreover, the estimated milk demand in India is 128 million tonnes by 2020 (Alagh, 2012). The industry had been recording a growth of 3-4 per cent annually during the period 1991-2011, which is almost three times the average growth rate of the dairy industry in the world. According to the Ministry of Food Processing Industry, milk processing in India is around 35 per cent, of which the organised dairy industry account for 13 per cent of the milk produced, while the rest of the milk is either consumed at farm level, or sold as fresh, non-pasteurised milk through unorganised channels. Milk is processed and marketed by 170 Milk Producers’ Co-operative Unions, which federate into 15 State Cooperative Milk Marketing Federations. The top ten milk producing states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Haryana account for more than 80 per cent of India’s milk production. Dairy production is an important direct and supplementary source of income for around 75 million rural families (mainly comprising small farmers and landless labourers), which accounts for around 98 per cent of total milk production. Andhra Pradesh, among other major milk producing states is milk surplus state in India. However, the dairy sector is still facing daunting challenges of low productivity of dairy animals, lack of effective quality and hygienic control systems, and inefficient network of cold chain infrastructure from the producer to the consumer. The present paper highlights the issues related to inefficient supply chain in dairying in Andhra Pradesh state and recommends the Geographic Information System (GIS) to improve the efficiency.