4/14/2018 Growing Opportunities in Dairy Farming in India

Growing Opportunities in Dairy Farming in India

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Growing Opportunities in Dairy Farming in India!

Entrepreneurship in Dairying:
India is emerging as a global economic power and the economy is growing at an average of 8- 9 per cent for last couple of years. The Dairy sector
is contributing significantly to the national economy and with 112 MMT milk productions during 2009-10; it ranks first in the World.

It provides gainful employment and supplementary income to large number of people. Dairy sector contribute significantly on poverty reduction
in rural areas as income from milk in the total income of underprivileged family is as high as 75 to 80% during drought and the employment
generated is relatively high.

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Dairy entrepreneurs can effectively contribute to the society in the areas mentioned below:

1. Creates jobs for the large section of unemployed educated youth.

2. Creates market opportunities for the indigenous products through product diversification and innovative marketing.

3. Utilizes the non-conventional resources like solar energy, rain water, agricultural by products and other locally available resources.

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4. Entrepreneurs introduce new technologies and new products through entrepreneurial spirit.

5. Reducing Poverty, nutritional hunger through dairy development (Increase income and equity).

6. Export orientation of the dairy products (food safety and quality). Export of animals, milk products.

7. Surveillance and monitoring of emerging livestock disease due to decline in genetic diversity.

8. Developing breeding policy/conservation of elite indigenous germplasm.

9. Integrating small holder dairy production in value chain.

10. Adapting dairy production to climate change (methane mitigation, housing scheme).

11. Sustainability of commercial dairy production.

Scope of Entrepreneurship Development:

1. Ration Balancing Advisory Services:

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Ration given to animals usually comprises one or two locally available concentrate feed ingredient(s), seasonal grasses and crop residues. This
leads to imbalanced feeding which adversely affects the health and productivity of animals in various ways and also reduces the net daily income
to milk producer from dairying. At times, overfeeding of animals can also raise the cost of milk production.

Therefore, milk producers need to understand the implications of imbalanced feeding and recognize the importance of giving balanced ration to
their animals. Keeping this in view, NDDB has developed software for ration balancing, which will guide the milk producer about scientific animal
feeding.

Implementation of RBP optimizes milk production of milk animals at the least cost by proper utilization to available feed ingredients, so as to
provide them adequate amounts of proteins, minerals, vitamins as well as energy. This requires creation of a delivery system that provides advices
to the producers and also arranges sale of feed and feed supplements that helps in sustaining the activity.

2. Field Artificial Insemination Services:

High levels of productivity in dairy cattle can be achieved by bringing larger proportion of breedable female bovines under artificial insemination
(A.I.) services. This opens a wide opportunity for entrepreneurs who can become Mobile A.I. Technicians (MAITs). MAITs would provide quality
A.I. services at the farmer’s doorstep (Sahul et al, 2002)

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4/14/2018 Growing Opportunities in Dairy Farming in India

Other Opportunities:
i. Operating one’s own dairy farm, involving milk production activities.

ii. Working as dairy farm managers.

iii. As dairy herdman.

iv. As milkers.

v. As testers.

vi. As Stockman.

vii. As Manager in a Cooperative set up.

viii. Manufacture of cattle feeds and other value added products.

ix. Vet. services for animal health and breeding.

x. Import-Export (Machinery/Ingredients/Products).

xi. Use of automation and information technology.

xii. As fieldmen for dairy organisations.

xiii. As fieldmen for purebreed associations.

xiv. As technical staff for research organisations.

xv. Teachers.

xvi. Dairy extension worker—imparting vocational training.

xvii. Writers for technical journals/magazines.

xviii. Opportunities for leadership.

xix. Miscellaneous—

(a) Consultancy services.

(b) Financial security is afforded.

(c) Wholesome environment provided.

(d) Savings are encouraged.

(e) Encouragement for improvement.

Advantages of Dairying in India:

1. Important human food:

Milk is palatable, easy to digest and highly nutritious.

2. Milk, a nearly perfect food:

It contains fat, milk sugar, proteins, minerals and liberal source of many vitamins. It is deficient in vitamin C and iron.

3. Milk as a protective and balanced food:

Milk and its products are the only source of animal protein. In vegetarian diet. Hence Nutr. Advisory Committee of ICMR recommended 283 gm.
of milk/ day/per capita to balance the diet for supply of essential amino acids.

4. Supplies meat worth Rs.34, 310 crores annually.

5. Sources of draft power for various agricultural operations. Some of the excellent draft breeds supply good quality bullocks—the source of draft
power which brings savings in energy resources like petroleum products and coal.

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Table 10.1: Energy In Agriculture (Hindu Survey Of Indian Agric. 1999):

6. Suited to agricultural operations:

Due to small sized holdings of farmers all agricultural operations can best be completed by bullocks.

7. Provides organic manure:

Which is the best means of maintaining soil fertility and organic farming?

8. Opportunity of making use of barren/unfertile land for housing of animals.

9. Dairying under Indian conditions fits well with agriculture as mixed farming and provides protective and balanced farming.

10. National income:

Dairying contributes little more than 7 per cent to the national income, contribution of livestock sector to the national economy was in the range
of Rs. 1,30,233 crores (1999- 2000). Ref. Dairy Year Book, 05-06.

11. Offers opportunity of earning foreign exchange worth Rs. 5,213.8 crores by export of poultry, hides, bones, hair, etc.

12. Offers opportunity of proper utilization of by-products and industrial wastes as cheaper source of feeds for animals.

(a) Utilization of agriculture waste by-products like wheat bhusa, paddy straw, rice polish, wheat bran, cakes, chunis, etc.

(b) Utilization of milk by-products like whey, butter milk for feeding to calves and other growing stock.

(c) Utilization of animal by-products like bone meal, fish meal, meat meal; blood meal, etc.

(d) Utilization of industrial by-products like molasses, grain, go down sweepings etc.

13. Dairying offers opportunity of getting income round the year.

14. Milk output accounts for 5.51 per cent GDP (Ref. Dairy Year Book 05-06, 506).

15. Milk output accounts for more than 17 per cent of India’s agriculture production today as against 14 per cent in 1970-71. (Pashudhan. 2 (2) 7).

16. Livestock contributes to G.D.P. 8 per cent. (Yadav, 2000).

17. The gross value of milk and milk products at current prices is 1, 44,386 crores more than what contributed by wheat (66,791), Sugarcane
(28,488), Paddy (85,032).

18. Contribution to GDP (Gross Domestic Product) from agriculture and animal husbandry is 31 per cent including contribution from drought
power.

19. Contribution of agriculture to DGP is 18% (Bhasin, 2010).

20. Value of output from livestock and fisheries sector at current price is Rs. 2, 50,761 crores in 2005-07 which is 31.7 per cent of Rs. 7, 90,979
crores from agriculture and allied sector (Sharma ET, 2010).

Organic Livestock Farming (Ramesh & Thilakar, 2009):

According to NPOP (National Programme for Organic Production). Management techniques in organic livestock farming should be governed by
physiological and ethological needs of farm animals in question.

This includes:

1. That animals should be allowed to conduct their basic behavioural needs.

2. That all management techniques, including those where production levels and speed of growth should be concerned, for the good health and
welfare of the animals.

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To market products as ‘Organic’, certification of products by a certifying agency is essential. Products that are produced according to the organic
standards and have been certified, by an accredited certifying agency will only get the label ‘Organic’. Products labeled as ‘Organic’ fetch more
premium price than non-organic products. However, since market for organic products in India is restricted to metros and few other cities,
producers need to know the markets for products. Hence, standards, certification and marketing network are important elements of organic
farming.

Standards for Organic Livestock Farming:

IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) has set standards for organic farming as ‘IFOAM Basic Standards,’ which
are followed world over. These standards act as guide for other standards on organic farming. The FAOAVHO too have adopted guidelines for
organic agriculture and livestock production. The ‘National Standards for Organic Production’ (NSOP), in India are based on IFOAM basic
standards.

Some of the important standards for Organic Livestock Farming as mentioned in NPOP (National Programme for Organic
Production) are:

1. Sufficient free movement, fresh air, feed and natural daylight should be provided to animals according to their needs.

2. Adequate facilities should be provided for expressing behaviours in accordance with the biological and ethological needs of the species.

3. Poultry and rabbits shall not be kept in cages.

4. All organic animals should be born and raised in the organic holding.

Income and Employment Potential:

Sukla et al. (1994) made an analysis of income and employment increasing potential through dairying on marginal farms in mid-western region of
Uttar Pradesh. The results showed that an increase of 82 per cent to 175 per cent in the annual income could be possible through dairying even
over the best level of existing income on marginal farms. They reported that dairying carries a great potential to fill the gaps on marginal farms so
as to bring them above poverty line.

Their study suggests that scope of increasing income and employment on marginal farms through crops farming alone is severely limited due to
small land holding. Dairying appears to be a very potent and easily operational source of increasing income on marginal farms even under the
existing resource base.

Therefore, strengthening of credit and other infrastructure support by government for promotion of dairying will go a long way not only in
bridging up gaps of income, but also make them fully employed. Thus, dairying will be helpful in removing poverty and also in checking unwanted
migration of rural poor.

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