Challenges in Establishing a Dairy Farm in a Village

June 19, 2024

Challenges in Establishing a Dairy Farm in a Village

Aayush Yadav¹* and Bhavna Aharwal²

¹Livestock Development Department, Mahasamund, Chhattisgarh, India

²Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India

*Corresponding author’s email id: aayush.aayush091@gmail.com

Introduction

The establishment of a dairy farm in villages is a concrete step towards strengthening rural India. Where 70% of India’s population still lives in rural areas, this is a better opportunity for landless, marginal, and small farmers to earn a living. The dairy farm will not only provide complete nutritious food through milk and milk products but will also work to eliminate unemployment and malnutrition in rural areas. Dairy farming has the potential to provide manifold profits and improve the socio-economic status of the family. But it is not as easy as it sounds. There will be many challenges in starting the dairy farm which may scare a farmer who is unaware of it. An attempt is made to know about these challenges through this article.

Challenges in establishing a dairy farm in a village

Below are certain challenges that make the establishment of a dairy farm difficult in villages:

Large capital investment is needed:Establishing a dairy farm in a village requires sufficient acres of land, an adequate number of dairy animals, and cheap manpower. Small landholders can take the help of family members as cheap manpower, however, the remaining requirements require large capital investment which they lack. Therefore, initial investment to start dairy farms in villages is a big challenge for the farmers.
Unawareness regarding bank loan facilities and government schemes: Farmers are unaware of the loan facilities given by banks and subsidies given by the government through various schemes for the establishment of dairy farms. In such cases, farmers end up taking loans on interest from the landlords and starting the business, who exploit them in various ways.
Rearing of non-descript breeds: Almost all the landless, marginal, and small farmers in the villages tend to rear non-descript milch breeds only to meet their daily nutritional requirements in the form of milk, curd, and ghee. The number of animals in a household may vary from 2 to 5 or 10. Low in numbers, a milch animal only provides a maximum of 1 liter of milk per day and also dries off early producing a meager amount of milk in their lactation period, hence cannot be utilized for establishing a dairy farm. Commercial dairy breeds are required to establish a dairy farm.
Non-remunerative price of milk in villages: Few medium and large farmers in villages keep commercial dairy breeds such as Murrah, Sahiwal, Gir, Red Sindhi, Holstein Friesian, and Jersey which are known to produce fairly large amounts of milk in their lactation period. In a conversation with these farmers, it was revealed that though the milk production per animal exceeds a minimum of 5-6 liters per day, they were only receiving Rs. 35/- per liter of milk being sold which is less compared to Rs. 50/- in cities. A big concern to the farmers is that they follow similar feeding and other management practices like cities and yet end up receiving lower milk prices. Therefore, a standard pricing system should be followed throughout the country, especially in rural India and unorganized sectors to overcome the financial losses of dairy farms.
Unavailability of land for feed and fodder development: Few villages in India are settled in forest areas that have no land for fodder development. While the remaining are settled on flat and mountainous terrains that have depleting grazing lands. This leads to a lack of green fodder in the diet of milch animals which are an important source of nutrients for milk production. However, farmers grow Kharif and Rabi crops for livelihood and obtain crop residues which are fed to the milch animals around the year. Crop residues have no protein or nutrients and only make the animal feel full and satisfied. The unavailability of green fodder and only dependency on crop residues thereby elicits poor milk production.
Cost of animal feed is increasing: The continuous increase in the prices of green fodder and concentrate feed has become a cause of concern for the farmers, due to which farmers are hesitant to start dairy businesses and rear animals in large numbers. In addition, a significant amount of feed will add to the diet of unproductive animals. The addition of mineral mixtures and other supplements will further add to the price of feed. Small landholders cannot afford to buy such expensive feeds.
Dairy breeds require an adequate amount of feed to perform:Due to the non-production of green fodder for dairy animals by farmers and the use of a maximum part of their fields for growing crops; dependency on grasses available locally and forests for fodder; not giving importance to grains in the diet; and excessive feeding on crop residues, the health of animals in villages gets compromised as a result of which they are not able to produce milk as per their capacity. This is one of the reasons for the failure of the dairy businesses in the village. Dairy cattle require quality feed to perform up to their potential. Given this, farmers follow non-descriptive breeds that do not require any strict feeding practices.
Dairy requires a significant amount of water: Generally, farmers sow Kharib and Rabi crops in the fields throughout the year due to which the water level in the village goes down considerably, and in summer this problem turns into drought. In such areas, doing dairy business is a challenge, because dairy requires a lot of water, which includes everything from bathing and feeding animals to cleaning dung. Due to the regular use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture, questions are also being raised about the quality of water. If a solution to the water problem is found, then farmers can be attracted to the dairy business.
No insurance for non-descript breeds: The insurance companies have set a bar for the insurance of animals that includes high milch-producing breeds of animals. Non-descript breeds do not benefit due to their miser milk production. As villages have an abundance of non-descript breeds, the challenge is to develop an insurance scheme for them that will encourage farmers to keep more such animals, obtain milk from them, and sell the surplus amount to milk societies.
No interest in breeding schemes of the government: The landless, marginal, and small farmers owning non-descript breeds are reluctant to utilize sex-sorted semen technology provided by the government in the Nationwide Artificial Insemination Programme to increase milk productivity per animal. Sex-sorted semen technology will not only result in the birth of an improved breed of female calf but will also result in higher milk production once the calf becomes a mother. Farmers fear that due to the disorganization of fodder and enclosure, they will not be able to maintain the calves properly and will also fail to fetch more milk. For these reasons, farmers shy away from using this technology.
Unawareness regarding the heat of animals: Farmers are mostly unaware of their animals’ heat as they are grazed by shepherds and not stall-fed. While grazing, animals conceive from a non-descript breed and again produce small amounts of milk. Farmers, due to the non-detection of signs of heat in their animals, are not able to avail the benefit of the artificial insemination services provided by the government for free which aims to increase the milk productivity per animal and bring white (milk) revolution in the villages. An increase in milk productivity will boost the income of farmers and motivate them to raise good dairy animals and start a dairy business.
Farmers do not show affection for their animals: A common practice in villages is that the non-descript animals are taken by shepherds for feeding in the jungle in the absence of feed and fodders, some animals return to their homes in the evening while some get lost in the jungle for 4-5 days or more. The owners do not consider it necessary to search for their lost animals, probably due to less interest in animal husbandry. These lost animals will return to their homes once they find their herd or remain lost forever. In addition, if an animal has acquired some disease, fractured itself, or become non-productive or infertile, the owners end up discarding the animal on the roads. It is noteworthy that farmers raise these non-descript animals as long as they are healthy and do not spend a single penny on their feeding and management. One cannot expect them to start a dairy farm and take care of their animals.
Youth is not interested in handling animals: The maintenance of animals in villages is often done by women as men are busy in agriculture. In such a situation, if the animals are taken care of by the youth then women will get convenience in household work. But in today’s time, youth consider the management of animals including the feeding, removal of dung, bathing, and milking of animals as against their pride. The youth have other career goals. They are ready to work in mills, brick kilns, and shops for less money but shy away from earning more profits by opening their own dairy business. This is the reason that those who own dairy businesses, even after having manpower in their house, have to take the help of laborers, due to which the net income declines and this is the reason that the dairy business in the village is gradually on the verge of closure.
Trouble arising by emigration for work: Considering the challenges faced in the agriculture and dairy business sectors, farmers are looking for other sources of income for which they move away from the village and settle in other cities. Moreover, the youth are not interested in these sectors, which also forces them to migrate. Due to these reasons, there is a shortage of laborers in the village, and agriculture, animal fodder development, and other dairy activities are being affected. It cannot be denied that the dairy sector generally requires a large workforce, in the absence of which the sector fails.
Unavailability of dairy cooperative societies and milk routes: Milk from each dairy business is sold either to households or to milk cooperative societies, after which it is sent to the milk union at the district level and then to the milk federation at the state level. There are some rural areas where a good amount of milk is produced but a milk cooperative society has not been opened till now due to which milk is not consumed and sold in shops at low prices. Besides, there are some such remote areas where transportation is difficult and even if the farmers want to, they are not able to come to the milk societies to sell milk, nor is the milk vehicle of the society able to reach them. Opening a dairy business in such inaccessible areas is no less than a challenge. Due to these difficulties, farmers are retreating from doing dairy business. The facilities in this regard are better in cities where the businessman gets a fair price for milk.
Absence of market for milk and milk products: Farmers in villages do not get the right price for the milk and milk products in the market. At such times, farmers sell their products at lower prices before they get spoiled leading to financial loss. This happens because milk and milk products are available and consumed in every household and there is no need for extra. It is noteworthy that about 18% of milk in the country is processed by government institutions, and private and cooperative societies while the remaining milk is either consumed locally or processed by the unorganized sector who buy milk at discounted prices. This shows that the absence of a market for milk and milk products is a major setback in the development of the dairy business.
Inadequate veterinary assistance at farmers’ doorstep:In the dairy business, veterinary consultation is a must for the good health of dairy animals, in the absence of which the animals may suffer from various types of diseases and even die. But at present veterinary facilities are not available in every village due to which farmers are facing huge financial losses in the dairy business.
Maintaining hygiene conditions on the farm: The objective of a dairy farm is not only to produce milk from animals but also to produce clean milk through adequate hygiene. A clean dairy farm reduces the risk of disease among the animals and maintains the quality of milk and milk products. If hygiene is compromised, problems like the death of animals and spoilage of milk and milk products arise which leads to financial losses. Thus, maintaining hygiene in rural India will be the most challenging for dairy owners.
Heat stress adversely affects the overall performance of animals:The performance of dairy animals in summer months decreases due to heat stress that severely affects their biological functions. This hampers their feeding behavior, growth, milk production, and reproduction ability. So, unless they are managed efficiently it will be a challenge to use the animals to their full potential.

Farmers can overcome these challenges through the rearing of commercial dairy breeds, utter awareness, adoption of government-framed dairy development programs and loan facilities, and active participation of the family.

Conclusion

Starting a dairy business is not for everyone. This becomes more arduous when started at the village level with limited investment and almost no technical know-how. At this point, starting a dairy farm would bring failures more often than success. Therefore, it becomes imperative to understand the challenges of starting a dairy farm in a village.

References

Sarkar, A. and Dutta, A. 2020. Challenges and opportunities of dairy sector in India vis-à-visworld: A critical review. Exploratory Animal & Medical Research, 10(1): 9-17.
Jatwani, M. and Swain, S. 2020. Is small scale dairy farming dying out? An In-depth study. Indian Journal of Community Medicine, 45: S47-S51.

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