India may have to import milk in five years: Increasing pressure on pastures leads to sharp shortage of fodder

By A Representative
Would India, which boasts of having the largest cattle population of the world, be forced to import milk in the next four years, thanks to increasing shortage of fodder supply? It would seem so, if a recent investigation on “rising pressure on land” leading to reduction pastures is any guide.
The investigation, carried out by Gangadhar S Patil, founder of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters, says that “spurred by rising incomes, a growing population and changing food preferences, the demand for milk and milk products will grow to at least 210 million tonnes by 2021–22, a rise of 36% over five years.”

To meet this demand, he adds, the milk production must grow by 5.5% per annum, and to boost milk yield, “India would need to generate 1,764 million tonnes of fodder by 2020” though “existing sources can only manage about 900 million tonnes of fodder–a shortage of 49%. ”

Green fodder between 1995 and 2025

The investigation by Patil, published in a top data analysis site, says, “In the decade to 2015, milk production went up 59% from 92 million tonnes to 146 million tonnes in 2015. But fodder shortages may knock India off its position as the world’s top milk producer.” India contributes nearly 17% of global production). ”
According to him, “The milk productivity of India’s livestock is less than half (48%) of the global average: 987 kg per lactation compared to the global average of 2,038 kg per lactation”, adding, “Currently, all three types of fodder are in short supply – green (63%), dry (24%) and concentrates (76%).”
Pointing out that “only 4% of total cultivable land in India is used for fodder production, a proportion that has remained stagnant for the last four decades”, Patil says, “Considering the demand for milk, land under fodder production needs to be doubled, according to a December 2016 report of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture. ”
Quoting from the Parliamentary Committee report, Patil says, “Major portions of grazing lands have either been degraded or encroached upon”, adding, things have also gone worse because of the availability of crop residues, the largest single source of fodder, thanks to “increasing pressure on land and the replacement of traditional cereal crops, especially coarse ones.”

Dry fodder between 1995 and 2025

On the other hand, he says, “Given the importance of food and cash crops, it is very unlikely that the area under fodder cultivation will increase substantially”, adding, with predictions India may need to “resort to significant imports from the world market”.
According to Patil, as feed cost constituting “about 60-70% of operating expenses on dairy farms”, those who would suffer most would be small and marginal farmers, who constitute “nearly 70% of India’s milk producers.
“The contribution of livestock to the incomes of landless and small farmers ranges between 20-50%, and the poorer the family, the greater the potential of dairy farming’s contribution to livelihood”, he adds.

Comments

When democracy becomes a performance: The Tibetan exile experience

By Tseten Lhundup* I was born in Bylakuppe, one of the largest Tibetan settlements in southern India. From childhood, I grew up in simple barracks, along muddy roads, and in fields with limited resources. Over the years, I have watched our democratic system slowly erode. Observing the recent budget session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, these “democratic procedures” appear grand and orderly on the surface, yet in reality they amount to little more than empty formalities. The parliamentarians seem largely disconnected from the everyday struggles faced by ordinary exiled Tibetans like us.

Fair prices, fresh produce: Vegetable market opens in Rajasthan tribal village

By Vikas Meshram* On 18 March 2026, the tribal village of Sajjangarh in southern Rajasthan witnessed the grand and dignified inauguration of a new vegetable market (mandi). Established through the tireless joint efforts of the Krushi Avam Adivasi Swaraj Sangathan (Bhilkuaan) and Vaagdhara, under the active leadership of the Gram Panchayat of Sajjangarh, the market is being hailed as a cornerstone for local self-governance, self-reliance, and a sustainable rural economy.

Study links sanctions to 500,000 deaths annually leading to rise in global backlash

By Bharat Dogra International opinion is increasingly turning against the expanding burden of sanctions imposed on a growing number of countries. These measures are contributing to humanitarian crises, intensifying domestic discord, and heightening international tensions, thereby increasing the risks of conflicts and wars.

Ex-IAS Atanu Chakraborty and a tale of two different Gujarat vision documents

By Rajiv Shah The likely appointment of Atanu Chakraborty as HDFC Bank chairman interested me for several reasons, but above all because I have interacted with him closely during my more than 14 year stint in Gandhinagar for the “Times of India”. One of the few decent Gujarat cadre bureaucrats, Chakraborty, belonging to the 1985 IAS batch, at least till I covered Sachivalaya was surely above controversies. He loved to remain faceless, never desired publicity, was professional to the core, and never indulged in loose talk. When he neared retirement, which happened in April 2020, first there were rumours in Sachivalaya that he would be appointed SEBI chairman, and then there was talk he would be chairman (or was it CEO?) of Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City (a dream project of Narendra Modi as Gujarat chief minister, which as Prime Minister Modi wants to promote, come what may). But, for some strange reasons, and I don’t know why, none of this happened, despite the fact...

Weaponised bravery, institutionalised cowardice as the engine of authoritarianism

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* The insidious politics of crony capitalism is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, aided by the reckless expansion of artificial intelligence and other technologies designed not to liberate but to dominate, domesticate, and dehumanise societies. Alongside this, an illiberal politics of cowardice is emerging—serving as an accomplice to dehumanisation amid growing imperialist wars and conflicts across the world. Death in distant lands no longer stirs conscience. The push-button culture of digital screens has transformed social media into a disconnected, individualised, Hobbesian space, where the puritan pursuit of self-interest is elevated as the essence of human existence.

Moon missions and manholes: Development's drumbeat drowns out deaths in sewers

By Vikas Meshram* We proudly narrate the story of our nation’s progress. On every platform, we speak of the success of Chandrayaan , Digital India , and our rapidly growing economy. But behind this radiant picture lies a darkness—the world of sanitation workers who descend into sewers, risking their lives. This darkness is not confined to the drains alone; it runs deep within the conscience of our society.

Witnessing Iran beyond propaganda: Truth, war, and the path beyond western paradigm

By Naile Manjarrés On June 23, 2025—marked as the 2nd of Tir, 1404, on the Persian calendar—a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was announced. This "night of the decree" shifted the trajectory of global affairs; although the world may appear unchanged on the surface, we have yet to fully grasp its impact.

Best left-handed cricket XI of all-time: Could it beat an all-time right-hander XI?

By Harsh Thakor* This is my all-time left-handers Test XI. It could arguably give an all-time right-handers XI a strong run for its money, boasting the likes of Garry Sobers, Brian Lara, Wasim Akram, and Adam Gilchrist.

Dhurandhar: The Revenge — Blurring the line between fiction and political narrative

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan* "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" does not wait to be remembered; it arrives almost on the heels of its predecessor, released on March 19, 2026, just months after the first film’s December 2025 debut. The speed of its arrival feels less like creative urgency and more like calculated timing—cinema responding not to storytelling rhythm but to the emotional climate of its audience. Director Aditya Dhar, along with actor Yami Gautam, appears acutely aware of this moment and how to harness it.

Search This Blog