Dairy-based Livelihoods
57
IV. Factors contributing to
productivity and profitability
There are several factors such as the quality
of animals, human resources and technical
skills, land availability, capital, credit, exten-
sion and health care services, institutions of
dairy farmers, value addition andmarketing
opportunities that determine the profitabil-
ity of dairy farming (Table 4.4).
1. Low productivity and quality
of animals
The quality of animals determines milk
productivity and hence the overall produc-
tion. Despite being the world’s largest milk
producer, India’s productivity per animal
is very low—at 987 kg per lactation—
compared to the global average of 2,038 kg
per lactation. The base line study of NDP
shows that in the project area, indigenous
cows, cross-bred cows and buffaloes,
contribute 12 per cent, 35 per cent and
53 per cent as against their population
share of 25 per cent, 26 per cent and 49
per cent respectively. Indigenous cows’
productivity is low.
The average yield of milk per day per
animal at national level from different types
of animals during 2013–14 is given below
in Table 4.5.
Table 4.5:
Average yield rate of milk (kg/day)
Exotic/cross-bred
cows
Indigenous/
non-descript cows Buffaloes
6.78
2.50
4.91
Source:
Annual Report 2014–15, Department of
Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries; Ministry of
Agriculture, Government of India.
The major causes of low productivity of
milch animals are:
•
Poor nutrition due to traditional feed-
ing practices that are not based on
scientific feeding methods, limited
Table 4.4:
Factor conditions
Herd
Herd inventory
Very large number of indigenous animals with low productivity and a
small portion of cross-breeds
Breed
Lack of policy focus on strengthening indigenous breeds
Feed
Very poor awareness of quality feed, which hinders productivity
Farmers not interested in quality feed because of the low price of milk
Increasing feed costs
Veterinary medicine
Availability is not an issue
Veterinary medicine costs
Duplicate or cheap medicines
Human capacity
Farmer technical capacity
Knowledge and new techniques are not accessible
Support services technical capacity
Accessibility to good quality veterinary services is an issue in many
parts of the country
Organisation and managerial capacity Organisational and managerial capacity of farmer cooperatives is very
poor
Entrepreneurial capacity
Entrepreneurial capacity is hindered by a low capacity to take risks
Credit or finance market
Formal credit mechanisms
Access to formal credit mechanisms is very poor
Informal credit mechanisms
Accessible but at very high interest
External economies
Transmission of learning
Very poor extension support services, leading to very poor knowledge
transfer
Social capital and trust
Strong social capital and trust in the village, which can sustain dairy
farmer organisations if properly managed
Source:
Case Study of India in Smallholder Dairy Development: Lessons Learned in Asia; FAO, Rome. 2009.
