BANGKOK, 27 September 2012 – Every last Wednesday of September is designated as the World School Milk Day. This year, Thailand is among 40 nations worldwide to celebrate the occasion.
Deputy Permanent Secretary for Agriculture and Cooperatives Chavalit Cookajorn said that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has since 2000 designated the last Wednesday of September as the World School Milk Day to promote milk drinking among youths.
Forty countries, such as China, Iran, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Tanzania, have participated in the day, placing importance on milk drinking and school milk projects. The campaign also helps reduce milk oversupply problems in the global market.
According to the Dairy Farming Promotion Organization of Thailand, the government has allocated 270 million baht budget for the school milk project over the past year. The organization further elaborated that more students than ever are now under the project.
Under the project, 7.6 million students, especially those at the elementary level, from 40,000 schools will be given free milk to drink for 130 days in each school term.
