Is Dairy Farming in India a Commercially Profitable One?

 

Ever since the 1970's the contribution of the livestock sector to India's agricultural GDP has been increasing. Today, India accounts to be the largest milk producer when compared to other countries in the world, contributing nearly 22% of the global dairy production and 5% to the national economy. India has the largest livestock herd i.e., close to 30.2 crore cattle which means for every single street dog found in India, there are about five cows and buffaloes. However, the question here is "Is Dairy Farming a Commercially Profitable One".

 

Is Dairy Farming a Commercially Profitable One?

 About 70 million farmers in India are associated with the dairy industry. To increase the income of farmers the government has been taking initiatives and has come up with schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana, Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund, Production Linked Incentive scheme, and a lot more. Even though these schemes are a boon, the ability to help small farmers increase their profitability is very less.

 Many small farmers in India do not maintain accounts for their business and are not even aware of the losses. Not many farmers are aware that the NPBBDD is focusing on extending Field Artificial Insemination. They are also providing subsidies to increase the population of livestock.

 Artificial insemination in India

 IVRI, Bareilly reports that the success rate of artificial insemination is only about 25% in India. The reasons being stated are:

●     unhygienic farming conditions which often result in the abortion of cows

●     lack of understanding among farmers about heat detection

 

Even if farmers receive a subsidy for every AI, they will have to take multiple attempts to impregnate their animals. This involves a lot of cost and is often not taken into consideration by the farmers when they focus on the success of farming.

The Government of India has also introduced sexed semen to increase the chances of producing female cows. These cost between Rs.700 to Rs.1,200 for one dose. 3 doses are at least required to impregnate a cow. As the cost increases, it becomes a barrier for farmers.

Fodder is another increasing expense and there is very little or no subsidy for fodder. Dry fodder that was costing Rs.50 for one quintal 10 years back but now costs between Rs.800 to Rs.1000 per quintal. As no subsidies are provided farmers end up with losses.

Climate change, another important factor

Calculations about livestock emissions are done and maintained by the clients as the government is not maintaining emissions inventory. Hence, we only calculate emissions in the areas that are defined and cannot accurately measure emissions in the livestock sector. Let's understand it better with an example. Let us assume a cross-breed cow consumes nearly 1,100 liters of water during a day out of which 60 liters are consumed by cattle and taken into account. Nearly 1000 liters are consumed for fodder production which is not taken into account. This underreporting results in bringing in the right policy changes.

About the Author

Prof Dr M Murugan, Former Dean,Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai. 

Animal Nutrition Specialist with 35+ years of experience in the field of Teaching, Research and Technology transfer to farming communities.  His field of Research is Fodder production with special emphasis to Agroforestry systems and the class of livestock is small ruminant.

Dr. M.Murugan has published 43 Research papers in both National and International Journals. He has also published 45 Popular articles ,authored 5 books and 2 manuals. His  research articles are cited in several text books.

     

He is the member of several Professional bodies like Indian Poultry Science Association  Dairy Technology Society of India , Animal Nutrition Society of India and  Tamil Nadu Veterinary Council.