Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav on Monday, 6 July 2026, amplified a key appeal by Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, urging all state dairy federations across India to set a target of increasing the number of milk-producing farmers by at least 35 per cent within the next two years. The post, shared under the campaign hashtag #SahkarSeSamriddhiKe5Saal (Five Years of Prosperity Through Cooperatives), underscores the renewed push to expand cooperative dairy membership at the grassroots level.

Context

The post quotes Amit Shah directly: 'मैं आज सभी राज्यों के डेयरी फेडरेशन से विनती करना चाहता हूं' — 'I want to appeal today to the dairy federations of all states' — calling on them to treat a 35 per cent expansion in farmer membership as a firm, time-bound goal. The appeal was made in the context of the Sahkar Se Samriddhhi Ke 5 Saal campaign, which marks five years of the Ministry of Cooperation's initiatives aimed at deepening India's cooperative ecosystem.

By amplifying the statement, Dr. Mohan Yadav signals Madhya Pradesh's alignment with the Centre's cooperative dairy agenda, reflecting an expectation that state governments and their affiliated federations will translate the minister's appeal into actionable plans.

Policy Backdrop

The Ministry of Cooperation was established in July 2021 — the first such dedicated ministry in India's history — with Amit Shah at its helm, tasked with modernising and expanding the country's cooperative sector. Since then, programmes including the National Programme for Dairy Development and the Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund have been directed at scaling up cooperative milk procurement networks.

India's cooperative dairy model traces its roots to Operation Flood, the landmark programme that transformed the country into the world's largest milk producer. The current policy emphasis on growing farmer membership in cooperatives is designed to formalise milk production, improve price discovery for producers, and strengthen rural income streams — particularly for small and marginal farmers who remain outside organised procurement chains.

Stakeholders and Impact

State dairy federations — which manage milk procurement, processing, and marketing on behalf of farmer cooperatives — are the primary addressees of Shah's appeal. A 35 per cent increase in enrolled milk-producing farmers across states would represent a significant expansion of the cooperative network, potentially bringing hundreds of thousands of additional households into the formal dairy economy.

For dairy farmers, cooperative membership typically means access to guaranteed procurement prices, veterinary support, animal nutrition inputs, and credit linkages. Expanding membership is therefore seen as a direct welfare measure, reducing dependence on unorganised middlemen and improving income stability.

What's Next

The immediate question is whether state dairy federations will formally adopt the 35 per cent expansion target and outline roadmaps for achieving it within the two-year window. Follow-up coordination meetings between the Ministry of Cooperation and state-level bodies, as well as any dedicated funding allocations, will be closely watched as indicators of how seriously the appeal is being operationalised.

With Madhya Pradesh publicly backing the push, pressure may mount on other BJP-governed states to articulate similar commitments — potentially making dairy cooperative expansion a visible metric in the lead-up to the campaign's five-year review milestones.