Dairy farmers turn away from rearing milch cattle amid diminishing returns
Dairy farming is no more an allied agricultural activity in villages as farmers have almost stopped rearing cows and buffaloes. Agricultural labourers and the less privileged who earlier used to run their families with income earned by rearing milch cattle do not find the vocation remunerative.
Contrary to the earlier trend when people in urban areas used to visit nearby villages to fetch fresh, quality milk and dairy products, villagers, including farmers, visit cities to buy milk for daily consumption or special occasions.
The high cost of buffaloes and cows besides steep hike in prices of inputs including fodder, cattle feed and veterinary medicine were cited as major factors behind the tendency. An increased demand for labourers for commercial projects, assured income to needy families through MGNREGA projects and the increase in trend for white-collar low paid jobs were the other reasons why even rural families now prefer buying milk instead of rearing their own milch cattle.
Former sarpanch of Chhanna village, Harjinder Singh Samra, acknowledged the tendency, arguing that the cost of milch cattle and inputs had increased disproportionately to the sale price of milk during the past decade.
“While poor Dalit families used to run their families by rearing buffaloes and cows to sell milk, now they can’t afford to purchase and rear these cattle,” said Samra, maintaining that the cost of an average buffalo yielding 12-13 litres of milk fluctuated around Rs 75,000.
Darshan Singh, owner of a dairy farm at Dehliz road, Ahmedgarh, said the cost of milk had increased manifold whereas the cost did not increase proportionately for domestic supply and at commercial level. “At least during four months of a year, the cost of production reaches Rs 80 per litre whereas regular customers are not ready to pay that amount,” said Darshan Singh, claiming that several residents of nearby villages were among his regular customers.
Dairy farm owners asserted that they had to curtail employment of labour to keep their projects running.
