KATHMANDU, March 13: Nepal still falls short of around 14 percent in milk production to be self-reliant in the farm product despite the government’s claim to achieve the target in this fiscal year.

The federal budget 2020/21 talks about making the country self-reliant in milk, meat and vegetables in the current fiscal year. Through allocating Rs 41.4 billion for the agriculture sector, the government had claimed to improve productivity and yields of the agriculture sector as of mid-July this year. Based on what it has achieved till date, the government’s dream is far from reality, shows the statistics compiled by the Dairy Industries Association Nepal (DIAN), an umbrella organization of the sector.

Unveiling the statistics of the country’s dairy sector in its 12th general assembly held in Pokhara on Friday, the association said that the availability of milk is now 78 liter per capita per year. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Nepal’s milk consumption should be at least 91 liter per capita per year to be self–reliant in milk. This shows that Nepal still needs an additional 13 liter of milk per person per year to achieve the government’s target.

DIAN records show that Nepal has been producing over 2.26 million tons of milk annually. Of the total produce, the share of cow milk is 35 percent and that of buffalo milk is 65 percent. The sector’s growth rate is four percent per year. The total investment in the dairy sector is Rs 30 billion and it has been providing jobs to around 30,000 individuals.

There are more than 500 dairies operating across the country and the sector’s share in the country’s GDP is nine percent. Nepal imports milk products worth Rs 12 billion annually from India and third countries to manage the shortfall.  

 
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