Milk Production Stats

8/3/2019 Milk Production Stats

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V. Socioeconomic Profile of Sample

Households

This chapter discusses the demographic characteristics of selected households, asset

ownership patterns, milk production, consumption and marketing practices, animal health and

breeding practices, and access to inputs and resources.

5.1 Demographic Characteristics

Important socioeconomic characteristics of sample households are presented in Tables 5.1

and 5.2 for the north and west regions, respectively. The average family size of the surveyed

households was six members per household and did not vary significantly across size classes

and regions. The age structure of households indicates that the average age of head of

household also did not vary significantly across regions; however, average age of commercial

dairy farmer was lower than other categories of farmers, which indicates that young farmers

have a strong preference for milk-production activity. About half of the population was in the

age group of 40 and older. The education level (number of schooling years) was slightly

higher in the western region and showed a direct relationship with the size of holdings.

Almost all the households in the sample were male-headed. Education plays an important role

in the adoption of innovations/new technologies, and young farmers are expected to be earlyadopters. Over 90 percent of households in the western region and nearly two-thirds in the

northern region were literate. The literacy ratio was higher in male-headed households than in

female-headed households in both regions.

The selected households had fairly long experience in dairy farming, and farmers had, on

average, 20 years of experience in milk-production activity, which shows that the majority of

the farmers in rural areas have been integrating their crop and milk-production activities

(Table 5.3). More than one-third of the commercial farmers had less than 10 years of

experience. These commercial farms are driven by demand-side market factors such as

increasing demand for milk and dairy products in urban areas, easy access to

inputs/resources, and better market opportunities. In contrast, the smallholder dairy farming

system in rural areas is closely interwoven with crop farming as a subsidiary occupation

based on crop residues/by-products and using male bovines for draft power and transport and

dung as manure in fields or as fuel for cooking.

Table 5.1 Demographic characteristics of sample households: Northern region

Small Medium Large Commercial All

Sample size 100 68 58 34 260

Average family size 5 6 7 6 6

Mean age of head (years) 46 47 52 43 47


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Household (%) with

25 years 1 6 4 9 4

25-40 years 37 24 24 32 30

40-50 years 36 35 19 35 32

> 50 years 26 35 53 24 34

Education of head (years of schooling) 4 5 7 9 6

Households (%)

Illiterate 9 41 24 9 36

1-5 years of schooling 18 13 10 6 14


> 10 years of schooling 27 6 16 35 11

Education of spouse (years of schooling) 2 3 4 6 3

Spouse (%)Illiterate 68 50 52 32 55




Number of

Adult males 2 2 3 2 2

Adult females 2 2 2 2 2

Children 2 2 2 2 2

Source: IIM/IFPRI India Dairy Field Survey, 2002-2003.

Table 5.2 Demographic characteristics of sample households: Western region


Sample size 100 80 50 30 260

Education of spouse (years of schooling) 5 6 6 7 6

Mean age of head (years) 46 46 44 42 45

Household (%)

25 years 2 0 0 3 1

25-40 years 32 40 42 47 38

40-50 years 37 26 32 23 31

> 50 years 19 34 26 27 30

Education of head (years of schooling) 9 9 10 10 9

Household (%)




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Spouse (%)


1-5 years 18 26 16 27 21

5-10 years 38 49 50 53 46

> 10 years 9 4 8 10 7

Number of

Adult males 2 2 3 2 2

Adult females 2 2 2 2 2

Children 1 2 2 2 2


There are striking differences in primary sources of occupation across different categories of

farms and regions (Table 5.4). A large proportion of small households (42%) in the northern

region were wage earners/farm laborers, while in the western region about 44 percent of

smallholders had dairying as their primary occupation. The spouse of the head of household

largely takes care of milk-production activities on small farms. In the northern region, crop

farming was a primary occupation; in the western region, the majority of the farmers had

dairy farming as a primary occupation. This is due to differences in agricultural development

between these two regions. However, in the case of commercial farms, milk production was

the main occupation in both regions.

Performance of a household also depends on access to infrastructure. Milk being a perishable

commodity, good access to market is of paramount importance. We have analyzed the

information on average distance to milk collection centers, the nearest market, and roads as

an indicator of infrastructure (Table 5.5). Access to milk collection centers is better in the

western region, where about 95 percent of the households have easy access, mainly due to the

good network of dairy cooperative societies. In the northern region, the commercial farms are

slightly distant from milk collection centers but close to markets. The average distance to a

paved road was also shorter in the western region than in the northern region.

Table 5.3 Experience of households in milk-production activities


Northern Region

Experience in dairy farming (years) 22 22 25 17 20

Households with

5 years 3 2 2 12 4

5-10 years 14 13 9 23 14

10-15 years 18 10 12 9 13

15-20 years 29 32 31 35 31> 20 years 36 43 47 21 38


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Western Region

Experience in dairy farming (years) 20 21 19 17 20

Households with

5 years 5 11 14 13 9

5-10 years 21 19 12 23 19

10-15 years 23 16 20 14 19

15-20 years 11 9 20 17 13

> 20 years 40 45 34 33 40


Table 5.4 Distribution of households according to main source of occupation


Northern Region

Main occupation of head of household (%)

Crop farming 31 79 83 30 55

Dairy farming 0 2 8 68 11

Wage earning 12 7 7 0 9

Service 42 10 2 0 19

Others 15 2 0 32 7

Spouse of head of household (%)Crop farming 1 1 5 29 6



Service 0 0 0 0 0

Others 0 1 0 0 0

Western Region

Main occupation of head of household (%)




Service 3 0 0 0 1

Others 1 0 0 0 1

Spouse of head of household (%)




Service 0 1 0 0 1


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Others 1 0 0 3 2


Table 5.5 Distance to market, milk collection center, and road


Northern Region

Households (%) with average distance to milk collection center

1 km 72 75 88 44 76

1-2 km 3 0 2 53 1

> 2 km 25 25 10 3 22

Households (%) with average distance to nearest market

1 km 0 0 79 10

1-3 km 14 0 6 12

3-5 km 12 14 3 11

> 5km 74 86 12 67

Households (%) with average distance to paved road

1 km 62 60 62 76 63

1-3 km 0 0 0 24 3

3-5 km 13 13 10 0 11

> 5 km 25 27 2 0 23Western Region

Households (%) with average distance to milk collection center

1 km 72 97 94 90 95

1-2 km 3 3 6 10 5

> 2 km 25 0 0 0 0

Households (%) with average distance to nearest market

1 km 0 0 0 0 0

1-3 km 15 13 6 17 11

3-5 km 46 37 34 70 38

> 5km 39 50 60 13 51

Households (%) with average distance to paved road

1 km 62 98 98 97 98

1-3 km 0 2 2 3 2

3-5 km 13 0 0 0 0

> 5 km 25 0 0 0 0



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5.2 Asset Ownership and Distribution

Land is an important asset of farmers, although in the case of dairy production, purchased or

exchanged feed and fodder can be substituted for land holdings. The average size of land

holdings was smaller (1.06 hectares) in the northern region than in the western region (1.85

hectares). It ranged from about 0.43 hectares in the case of small farms to about 2.60 hectares

in the case of large farms in the northern region (Table 5.6). In the western region, it ranged

from 0.85 hectares for small farms to 4.08 hectares for commercial farms. However, land

productivity in the northern region is higher than in the western region due to better irrigation

facilities and other resources. Most of the commercial farms are landless and highly

dependent on market-purchased feeds and fodder.

Table 5.6 Land ownership pattern in sample households

Own Land (ha)

Leased-in(ha) Leased-out(ha) Total OperationalAreaIrrigated Non-irrigated

Northern Region

Small Farms 0.36 - 0.10 0.03 0.43

Medium Farms 1.10 - 0.16 0.02 1.24

Large Farms 1.38 - 0.26 0.04 1.60

Commercial 1.23 - 0.39 - 1.62

All Farms 0.89 - 0.19 0.02 1.06

Western RegionSmall Farms 0.77 0.03 0.09 0.04 0.85

Medium Farms 1.66 0.10 0.36 0.02 2.10

Large Farms 2.06 0.22 0.18 0.09 2.37

Commercial 2.68 1.14 0.37 0.11 4.08

All Farms 1.52 0.18 0.20 0.05 1.85


The size distribution of households showed that about 42 percent of households in the northand 38 percent in the west had less than one hectare of land for cultivation (Table 5.7). More

than one-fourth of smallholder dairy farmers in the north were landless laborers, while the

share of such households in the western region was 11 percent (Table 5.8). Nearly 26 percent

of households in the north and 17 percent in the west had taken land on lease from other

farmers. The terms of lease were mainly a fixed amount per unit of land and varied

depending on the quality of the land. Only a small proportion of households rented out their

land, mainly due to small landholdings.

Table 5.7 Distribution of selected households according to farm size



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Northern Region (%)

< 0.5 ha 38 5 15 23 22

0.5-1.0 ha 28 17 9 11 20

1.0-2.0 ha 16 48 42 29 35

2.0-3.0 ha 12 17 17 20 11

> 3 ha 6 14 17 17 12

Western Region (%)

< 0.5 ha 42 4 5 44 23

0.5-1.0 ha 28 6 7 6 15

1.0-2.0 ha 16 24 22 0 17

2.0-3.0 ha 12 31 12 9 17

> 3 ha 6 35 53 41 29


Table 5.8 Proportion of farmers leasing-in and leasing-out land


Northern Region (%)

Landless 28 3 7 41 18

Lease-in 30 21 24 24 26

Lease-out 3 3 2 0 2Western Region (%)

Landless 11 4 6 3 7

Lease-in 9 10 14 30 17

Lease-out 5 1 4 3 3


Farmers grow a variety of crops in the study area. (Table 5.9). In the western region, rice

(17%) is a main crop during kharifseason and wheat (19%) in rabi season, accounting fornearly two-thirds of the total cropped area. Bajra and cotton were two other important kharifcrops, occupying about 11 percent of gross cropped area. Jowar, maize, and lucern were

important fodder crops. The average area allocated for fodder crops ranged from about 13

percent on small farms to about 22 percent on commercial farms.

The cropping pattern in the northern region is also dominated by rice in kharifand wheat in

rabi season, accounting for over three-fourths of the gross cropped area. The area under

fodder crops ranged from 8.7 percent on small farms to about 20 percent on commercial

farms, with an average of 13.4 percent for all categories. Maize, jowar, and berseem were

important fodder crops. In addition, farmers grow berseem (fodder) as a mixed crop with

mustard in the region.


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Livestock is an important component of farming systems in India. The distribution of the

bovine population in the selected households in given in Table 5.10.

Table 5.9 Cropping pattern in the study area

Crops/Regions Small Medium Large Commercial All

Western Region (%)

Paddy 11.29 15.14 16.55 25.89 17.05

Wheat 19.25 18.78 20.17 17.68 18.96

Bajra 20.12 15.26 11.53 8.61 13.88

Mustard 3.62 2.54 1.59 0.81 2.15

Fodder 26.32 29.28 31.38 36.66 30.8

Kharif 9.98 10.11 11.76 13.97 11.31

Rabi 8.70 8.83 10.55 10.84 9.64Summer 7.64 10.34 9.07 11.85 9.85

Others 19.40 19.00 18.78 10.35 17.16

Northern Region (%)

Paddy 40.40 42.30 37.80 34.80 38.90

Wheat 41.30 43.00 38.20 35.40 39.50

Fodder 8.70 9.00 14.80 20.40 13.40

Kharif 5.80 6.40 9.60 11.50 8.60

Rabi 1.60 0.10 2.40 0.00 1.30

Summer 1.30 2.50 2.80 8.90 3.50

Berseem+Mustard 6.20 5.40 7.40 9.40 7.00

Others 3.40 0.30 1.80 0.00 1.20


The average number of animals per household varies with the size of the farm; however,

there were striking differences in terms of milk animal population composition across regions

and categories of households. Buffalo was a main source of milk production in the western

region, but its importance differed across farm size. Among small and medium farmers, about90 percent of milk animals were buffaloes, while large farmers kept about 79 percent milk

buffaloes and 21 percent crossbred cows. In the case of commercial farms, buffaloes

constituted about two-thirds of milk animal population; the rest were crossbred cows. In the

northern region, the share of crossbred cows was higher than buffaloes. Buffaloes constituted

about 32 percent of total milk animal population. Commercial farmers' herd composition

consisted of about 32 percent buffaloes and 68 percent crossbred cows.

Table 5.10 Average number of bovines in the study area

Farm SizeCows Buffaloes

In-milk Dry Heifers Calves In-milk Dry Heifers Calves


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Northern Region

Small - - - - 1 - - -

Medium - - - - 3 1 1 2

Large 2 1 - - 5 2 2 3

Commercial 9 2 1 4 7 1 1 3

All Farms 2 - - 1 3 1 1 2

Western Region

Small 2 - - 2 1 - - 2

Medium 4 2 - 3 2 1 - 3

Large 7 2 2 5 2 1 2 4

Commercial 15 4 3 8 7 2 2 3

All Farms 6 4 5 3 3 2 1 4


More than half of the selected households had 1-3 milk animals; fewer than 10 percent kept

more than 15 milk animals (Table 5.11). In India, about 70 percent of households keep one to

three milk animals, and there are very few large herds. Since the objective of this study is to

examine the impact of livestock industrialization on the welfare of rural households, we

purposely selected households with large herd sizes. In certain villages, it was difficult to find

dairy farmers with 10 or more milk animals; however, in parts of Punjab and Haryana, the

average size of dairy herds has increased significantly during the past few years. Since no

reliable data are available at the state or national levels about changes in the structure of dairy

herds, we tried to get some estimates from the selected households about the changes in herdsize milk over the past 15 years on the basis of respondents' memory (Table 5.12).

The average number of animals kept by smallholders did not change much during the last two

decades, and ranged between two and four. Two of the reasons given by the respondents were

shortage of land for growing fodder crops and market-related problems. Similarly, in the case

of medium farmers, there was not much increase in dairy herd size. However, there appeared

to be a ramping-up of herd size in large and commercial farms during the 1990s, especially in

the case of commercial farms. These estimates are on the basis of the memory of the

respondents, and therefore need to be interpreted carefully and not generalized.

Table 5.11 Distribution of households according to milk animal herd size

SizePercent of households

North West

2 animals 27 26

3-5 animals 26 30

6-8 animals 14 21

9-10 animals 4 9

10-15 animals 21 8> 15 animals 8 6


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Table 5.12 Changes in dairy herd size: 1980s and 1990s (1980-2002)

Early 1980s/Start 1990 1995 2002

Northern Region

Small 3 4 3 2

Medium 6 7 8 8

Large 7 9 11 12

Commercial 7 8 12 22

All 6 7 8 9

Western Region

Small 3 4 4 3

Medium 5 5 6 7

Large 8 10 11 13

Commercial 13 14 21 28

All 6 7 8 10


The performance of milk animals depends on many factors, such as genetic potential, quality

of feed, availability of animal health and breeding services, and management practices.

Production traits of milk animals play a crucial role and have a profound influence on the costand returns of any dairy enterprise. Important traits such as age at first calving, lactation

length, dry period, and milk yield per animal on different categories of farms are given in

Tables 5.13 and 5.14.

The late maturity of dairy animals, resulting in high cost of rearing animals to the age of first

calving, was one of the major causes for the uneconomic nature of dairying in India. The age

at first calving is governed by biological factors such as age at maturity and conception rate,

which are again influenced by breeding, feeding, management, and environmental factors.

The average age at first calving was higher for buffaloes than for crossbred cattle. In general,

for the study area as a whole, the average age at first calving for buffaloes and crossbred

cattle was found to be 43 and 33 months, respectively, in the northern region; thecorresponding figures for the western region were 45 and 35 months. In general, the age at

first calving of buffaloes and crossbred cows was less in the small and commercial groups of

farms.

The lactation length affects total milk production and, consequently, the returns from dairy

animals. A prolonged dry period puts the dairy farmer at a disadvantage, since the animals

must be fed and taken care of during this period, increasing the cost of maintenance. The

inter-calving period is the sum of in-milk and dry days or the period between two successive

calvings. Short inter-calving periods lead to higher numbers of lactations in the productive

life of animals, which result in higher income from the sale of milk and calves. In some cases,

farmers may choose to extend lactation beyond the economically optimal period due to needfor cash flow or perceived risks associated with calving.


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Table 5.13 Economic traits of milk animals on selected households

Farm Size

Cows Buffaloes

Age at Ist

calving(months)

Lactation

length (days)

Dry

period(days)

Age at Ist

calving(months)

Lactation

length (days)

Dry period

(days)

Northern Region

Small 36 300 85 42 365 120

Medium 40 280 90 41 350 110

Large 34 275 75 43 385 105

Commercial 32 290 60 40 345 115

All Farms 33 287 73 42 352 112

Western Region

Small 34 283 60 39 350 135

Medium 34 276 70 42 339 130

Large 36 278 65 43 335 124

Commercial 35 276 57 44 360 138

All Farms 35 275 63 43 340 134


The average lactation length in buffaloes was about 352 days in the northern region and 340

days in the western region. The dry period ranged from 112 days in the Northern region to134 days in the western region. In the case of crossbred cows, the lactation length did not

vary significantly across regions or categories of farms. The average lactation length ranged

from 287 days in the northern region to 275 days in the western region. There has been a

marked decrease in dry periods and inter-calving periods in both buffaloes and crossbred

cows, which may be attributed to improvement in farm-level technological management and

access to breeding services.

The quantity of milk production on a dairy farm does not depend on the total number of

animals in the herd but on the number of animals in milk. The higher the proportion of

animals in milk, the lower the cost of milk production. The proportion of animals in milk was

generally higher in commercial farms than in small and medium-sized farms.

The productivity of milk animals is of vital importance to livestock owners because it has a

direct influence on costs and returns. Therefore, the average milk yield of lactating animals

was worked out (Table 5.14). The average milk yield per day of lactating cows and buffaloes

was higher in the northern region than in the western region. The average productivity of

crossbred cows was significantly higher than that of buffaloes. Commercial farmers have

marginally higher yields in the northern region, while in the western region there were not

large variations across different size groups. One of the reasons for less variation in the

western region could be good networking of cooperatives, which are more beneficial for

small farmers in terms of access to output markets and animal health care facilities. There are

flush and lean seasons in milk production, which differ for cows and buffaloes. The average

productivity during a lean season is substantially lower than during a flush season. The


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average productivity in cows during a flush season was as high as 16 liters in the western

region and 15.2 liters in the northern region.

Table 5.14 Average milk yield per lactating animal in different categories of households

(liters/day)

Farm SizeCows Buffaloes

Peak Average Peak Average

Northern Region

Small 14.6 9.0 101 6.0

Medium 13.8 9.4 9.8 6.7

Large 14.5 10.6 9.6 7.2

Commercial 17.0 12.4 11.8 9.0

All Farms 15.2 10.2 10.1 6.9Western Region

Small 14.1 7.2 8.9 4.6

Medium 15.4 6.8 10.3 4.8

Large 15.2 7.4 10.9 4.8

Commercial 17.6 7.6 11.4 5.2

All Farms 16.0 7.3 10.7 4.9


5.3 Milk Production, Consumption, and Disposal Patterns

Milk is an important and comparatively cheap source of nutrition in rural areas of the

country. The smallholder dairy farming system provides a variety of outputs, such as milk,

organic manure, draft power, and cash income. The farmers retain part of the milk for home

consumption (liquid milk and milk products) and sell the rest in the market to get cash

income. The milk production, consumption, and disposal pattern is given in Table 5.15. The

average milk production per household has a direct relationship to farm size. The average

share of milk sold is higher in the western region than in the northern region. The average per

capita consumption of milk per day is higher in the northern region than in the western regionowing to dietary habits. In the western region, some of the farmers sell a large proportion of

their milk to dairy cooperatives and purchase ghee (clarified butter) from them for home

consumption, because when ghee is made through traditional methods at home there is waste

of by-products that can be used in the modern dairy product manufacturing plants. This has

all happened due to the efforts of cooperative organizations in the area. In the western region,

smallholders sell about 88 percent of total milk produced, which is higher than the northern

region (68.2%). Part of this difference might be distress sales due to the need for immediate

cash (based on informal discussion with sample households). The share of milk sold was high

among commercial farms, mainly due to their larger production base and more market-

oriented production objectives.

Table 5.15 Milk production, consumption, and disposal pattern (liters per day)


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Size Production Home consumption Sold % share of milk sold

Northern Region

Small 8.8 2.8 6.0 68.2

Medium 20.5 6.5 13.0 63.4

Large 54.9 7.7 47.2 86.0

Commercial 171.0 6.2 164.8 96.4

All 43.4 6.1 37.3 85.3

Western Region

Small 15.3 1.9 13.4 87.6

Medium 43.7 4.5 39.2 89.7

Large 75.4 5.1 70.3 93.2

Commercial 183.7 4.6 179.1 97.5

All 58.1 4.2 53.9 92.8


The average per capita availability/consumption of milk and milk products was much higher

in the northern region (1,016 grams/day) than in the western region (700 gm/day). The

average per capita consumption ranged from 560 grams per day for small households to

nearly 1,100 grams for large households. The average per capita consumption in the western

region was lowest (380 grams/day) among smallholders and highest among commercial

farms (766 grams/day). These consumption estimates might be slightly high, as we could not

get information about quantity of milk and milk products given as gifts to neighbors and

relatives, which is a common practice in rural areas.

Information on the average milk yields on the day before the survey and information about

the prices received by the sample households is summarized in Table 5.16. There was no

significant difference in buffalo milk yield between the northern and western regions, but

there were variations across different sizes of farms. The difference in cow milk yield was

significant between the regions. The average price received by the household for buffalo milk

was about Rs. 11.6 per liter in both regions, while the price received for cow milk was higher

in the northern region. However, this table gives more insights about the organizational

structure of the dairy sector. One of the interesting points that is evident from Table 5.16 is

that smallholders get lower milk prices in the northern region than in the western region. Theexplanation for this could be the strong presence and networking in the western region of

cooperatives, which do not discriminate between small and large producers and procure milk

at a price based on fat and solid-not-fat (SNF) content, irrespective of quantity of milk sold.

In the northern region, the presence of the organized/cooperative sector is very limited and

producers are at the mercy of the unorganized sector, mainly consisting of milk

vendors/dudhias, which give smallholders less bargaining power. One of the importantinferences that could be made from this observation is that in order to protect smallholder

milk producers, farmer-managed organizations and links between producers and processors

through formal or informal contracts should be promoted.

Farmers sell milk to different agencies; important marketing channels are presented in Figure5.1. In the western region, dairy cooperatives are a major agency for procuring milk from


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farmers; however, a small proportion of milk produced is also sold to consumers, sweet

shops, milk vendors/dudhias, and private dairies. The proportion of dairy farmers selling milkto the unorganized sector is quite high and accounts for a large share of marketed surplus in

the northern region. We investigated the reasons for selling to a particular agency. The

household was asked to rank the first three important reasons for selling milk to a particular

agency, and weights were assigned per the importance of the reason (most important = 3;second important = 2; least important = 1). An index was constructed on the basis of these

weights. The results are given in Table 5.17. Dairy farmers in the northern region cited price

as the most important reason for selling milk to a particular agency, followed by timely

payment. In the western region, regular procurement (2.45) was the most important factor in

choosing the marketing agency, followed by timely payment (2.33) and provision of animal

health and breeding facilities (2.12). One of the important points is that farmers in the

western region did not consider the price received as an important factor. Other, less

important, reasons given by households for selling milk to a particular agency were correct

measurement, pricing based on fat and SNF, provision of credit, and advance payments.

Table 5.16 Productivity levels and prices received by farmers

SizeBuffalo milk Cow milk

Yield (lit./day) Price (Rs./lit.) Yield (lit./day) Price (Rs./lit.)

Northern Region

Small 5.8 11.26 8.4 7.50

Medium 6.1 11.18 8.7 8.29

Large 6.7 11.94 11.7 8.56

Commercial 8.2 13.16 13.1 8.58

All 6.9 11.63 12.3 8.29

Western Region

Small 5.7 11.28 8.8 7.40

Medium 5.6 11.22 8.9 7.45

Large 5.9 11.64 9.5 7.50

Commercial 6.7 12.88 10.7 7.72

All 6.1 11.61 9.8 7.48


Figure 5.1 Milk marketing channels


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Farmers were also asked about their future plans to increase milk production. Fewer than half

the farmers in the northern region planned to increase milk production, while the proportion

of households planning to increase milk production in the western region was very high

(82%) (Table 5.18). There, the proportion of farmers reporting plans to increase milk

production had an inverse relationship to the size of household, which might be due to

relatively large herd size among the large and commercial farmers in the study area. Farmers

who had plans to increase milk production were asked to give three important ways to

increase milk production, and an index was constructed. In the western region, feed andfodder availability is a factor in expanding milk-production activities (2.36), followed by

better management practices (2.27). In the northern region, farmers had plans to increase milk

production through better management, and their preference for buffaloes was quite evident

(Table 5.19). Farmers in the study area had good milk animal breeds, so breed improvement

does not seem to be an important issue in either region.

Table 5.17 Reasons for selling to a particular agency

Remunerati

ve price

Timely

payment

Regular

procurement

Pricin

g on

fat &SNF

Correct

measurement

Provisio

n ofservices

Provisio

n ofcredit

Advanc

e

payment


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Northern Region

Small

Farms

3.00 2.83 1.50 1.87 1.71 - - 1.35

Medium

Farms

2.83 2.72 1.30 1.58 1.83 1.00 - 1.06

Large

Farms

2.85 2.53 1.05 1.92 1.85 - - 1.06

Commerci

al

2.76 1.00 2.45 - 1.88 - - 1.33

All Farms 2.81 2.65 1.17 1.80 1.82 1.00 - 1.17

Western Region

Small

Farms

2.25 2.37 2.32 1.54 1.00 2.27 1.03 -

MediumFarms

1.50 2.27 2.52 1.50 1.33 2.24 1.04 -

Large

Farms

1.71 2.46 2.45 1.24 1.00 2.04 1.15 -

Commerci

al

2.33 2.14 2.69 1.18 - 1.87 1.25 -

All Farms 1.92 2.33 2.45 1.44 1.00 1.12 1.09 -


Table 5.18 Households' plan to increase milk production (%)

Response Small Medium Large Commercial All

Northern Region

Yes 57 52 45 38 48

No 43 48 55 62 52

Western Region

Yes 84 90 79 60 82

No 16 10 21 40 18


Finally, farmers were asked to rank the three most important constraints in dairy farming they

had experienced, and an index was constructed for different farm categories. The constraints

were categorized into technological, marketing, institutional, infrastructure, diseases, feeds,

and environmental constraints (Table 5.20). In the western region, shortage of feed-

particularly fodder-turned out to be the most important constraint (2.40), followed by

institutional constraints (2.20) and incidence of animal diseases (2.12). In the northern region,

technological constraints were the most important (2.71), followed by institutional constraints

(2.40), and infrastructure (2.39). The institutional and infrastructural problems were mostly


17/18

related to the quality of infrastructure and institutional services in general and public sector

utilities in particular. Environmental issues were at the bottom of the list.

Table 5.19 Ways to increase milk production

SizeBetter

breed

Increasing # of

crossbred cows

Increase innumber of

buffaloes

More feeds

& fodders

Better

management

Northern Region

Small 1.61 1.85 1.89 1.38 2.16

Medium 1.66 1.89 2.04 1.50 2.14

Large 1.56 1.75 2.19 1.50 2.00

Commercial 1.30 1.73 3.00 1.33 1.89

All 1.53 1.83 2.06 1.43 2.07

Western Region

Small 1.79 2.22 1.86 2.41 2.31

Medium 1.20 1.95 1.40 2.06 2.30

Large 1.31 2.08 - 2.13 2.30

Commercial 1.26 2.43 1.00 2.55 2.00

All 1.32 2.18 1.67 2.36 2.27

Source: IIM/IFPRI India Dairy Field Survey, 2002-2003

Table: 5.20 Constraints perceived by farmers in dairy farming

Size Technologic

al

Marketin

g

Institution

al

Infrastructur

e

Disease

s

Feed Environmenta

l

Northern Region

Small

Farms

2.76 2.56 2.52 2.44 2.23 2.10 0.99

Medium

Farms

2.64 2.13 2.27 2.23 2.25 2.03 1.10

LargeFarms

2.73 2.15 2.30 2.46 2.21 2.00 1.42

Commercia

l

2.70 2.01 2.46 2.43 2.16 2.40 1.74

All Farms 2.71 2.28 2.40 2.39 2.22 2.14 1.39

Western Region

Small

Farms

2.12 1.83 2.04 2.13 2.08 2.40 0.99

Medium

Farms

2.07 1.59 2.22 1.94 2.14 2.25 0.99


18/18

Large

Farms

1.83 1.57 2.39 2.00 2.33 2.41 1.00

Commercia

l

1.82 1.52 2.42 1.98 2.42 2.77 1.63

All Farms 2.02 1.67 2.20 2.03 2.18 2.40 1.07


5.4 Animal Health, Breeding, and Extension Services

Livestock services come mainly from the State Department of Animal Husbandry,

supplemented by cooperatives, the private sector, and non-government organizations. There

are veterinary polyclinics, veterinary dispensaries, first aid veterinary centers, and mobile

veterinary dispensaries in the country that provide animal health care and breeding facilities.

In addition, certain central and centrally sponsored schemes/projects, such as the IntensiveCattle Development Project (ICDP), provide services to farmers. The veterinary institutions

deliver curative veterinary services for all species of livestock and artificial insemination (AI)

for cattle and buffaloes. All services offered by the department are delivered at the center,

and livestock owners have to take their animals to the center for treatment or for AI services.

All services offered by the department are supposed to be free or subsidized, but a study by

Ahuja et al. (2001) revealed that farmers pay a fairly high price for all these services, and the

quality of the services is poor. Budget constraints have reduced government support to these

institutions for salaries and establishment costs. The Department of Animal Husbandry

spends nearly 95 percent of its annual budget allocations (public funds) on salaries and

establishment costs.

In the northern region, government veterinary hospitals are the most important providers of

animal health and breeding services. Some of the farmers are also getting these services from

the private sector and, to a limited extent, from cooperatives. Farmers are getting information

about prices, markets, and feeding and management practices through personal contacts,

followed by government extension agencies, state agricultural universities, and

traders/intermediaries. In the western region, a majority of the sample households receive

these services from the dairy cooperatives and the State Department of Animal Husbandry; a

few private sector veterinarians supplemented these efforts.

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Milk Production Stats

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