86
S
tate
of
I
ndia
’
s
L
ivelihoods
R
eport
2015
existing breeds. AI facilities are managed
by the company, professionally. Farmers
are advised to shorten the gap between
two lactations. The acceptance of AI is
increasing. Though credit is being made
available for purchase of animals, the
long term objective of the company is
breed improvement.
•
These paravets were previously the
unskilled and the unemployed youth of
Harda andDewas districts whowere later
trained to provide veterinary services.
•
Best quality semen is procured fromdif-
ferent parts of the country and admin-
istered for breed improvement.
•
FromMay 2013 to September 2014, the
Sahayog team has conducted a total of
9,100 AIs. The AI service is available at
the doorsteps of the farmers at a nominal
fee of
`
200 which also includes preg-
nancy diagnosis within the first three
months.
•
Success rate of AI has been more than
50 per cent while the national average is
reportedly at 18 per cent.
Veterinary services
•
Through paravets and empanelled vet-
erinary doctors, 24-hour veterinary sup-
port is provided to farmers for nominal
fee. Medicines are also provided on cost
basis.
•
Regular veterinary camps are organised
where oral deworming is done and infer-
tility treatment through intra-uterine
therapy is also carried out at nominal
charges of
`
30 and
`
50 respectively.
Input services
•
SCMPL provides high-quality fodder,
mineral mixtures, calf starters and other
supplements through PMCs.
•
The company is planning to establish a
cattle feed plant to ensure good quality
feed at reasonable prices.
•
The company is training farmers in
silage making and fodder cultivation
such as the African tall maize, MP jowari
etc. Initially, these have been undertaken
with progressive farmers.
Financial services
•
Credit facility is available to farmers
from the Sahayog Microfinance com-
pany, a sister organisation. Lending has
commenced recently and the repayment
amount is deducted from the price pay-
able to them for milk. The company
is negotiating with local banks for
financing the farmers directly but the
procedures are cumbersome. Banks like
the IDBI Bank, The Ratnakar Bank Ltd
(RBL) are coming forward for business
correspondent (BC) arrangement with
the microfinance institutions (MFIs).
•
The track record of milk pouring, con-
sistent milk pouring, cashflow analysis
are considered before financing is done.
•
Due to monitoring and cattle health
cover, the company has been able to
negotiate good premium rates with
insurance companies. Cattle insurance
for death of the animal is available for
a premium of
`
3 per
`
1,000. Infertility
cover is covered at an extra payment of
`
1 per
`
1,000.
Farmer helpline
The company operates farmers’ helpline
through telephone and on an average five
calls per day are received. While about 45
per cent calls are about payments, the rest
are regarding cattle care, loan availability etc.
Farmers getting low rates for the milk get
upset and the team has to visit and provide
counseling and solutions to them.
Transparent dealings with farmers
The company accepts even very small
quantities of milk (as small as 250 ml from
a farmer) but the maximum quantity that
s/he can pour is not capped. PMCOperators
takes a sample of the milk and evaluate it in
an Electronic Milk Analyzer which displays
the fat percentage, SNF percentage, quan-
tity of milk and the payable amount to the
farmer. Unlike other companies that take
