According to a new WEF report released on Monday, India is one of the few countries that has been able to evolve their food systems for a broader set of outcomes by unlocking the potential of small and medium-sized enterprises.

According to the World Economic Forum report, countries that address the food crisis can improve jobs, health, and the environment while also meeting net-zero goals more effectively.

It named India, Ghana, and Vietnam as countries that have been able to evolve their food systems by leveraging the potential of SMEs, particularly those with farmer ties and operating in local food chains.

According to the report, a multi-decade programme based on support for smallholder farmers and dairy enterprises in India has helped transform dairy into the country’s largest agricultural commodity, accounting for roughly one-third of rural income and 10 per cent of total caloric intake in 2019.

Dairy is India’s single largest agricultural commodity, accounting for 5 per cent of GDP and serving as an important nutritional foundation.

India is now the world’s largest milk producer, with 80 million smallholder farmers raising herds of fewer than ten animals producing 70 per cent of the milk.

As the country continues to urbanise, city dwellers spend more money on dairy and consume more processed dairy products with higher profit margins. The sector’s value addition more than doubled between 2002 and 2021, reaching nearly $5 billion in 2020.

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