Approaches for enhancing productivity of smallholder dairy production in India

Abstract

Dairy production in India plays an important role in improving the livelihoods of farmers with equity. The milk
production in the country has increased by about 10 times since independence (176.35 million metric tons in
2017-18), and at present accounts for about 67% of total value of output from livestock. The dairy production
systems are complex and generally based on traditional and socio-economic considerations mainly guided
by available feed resources. The traditional feeding system mostly consists of crop by products, natural
grasses supplemented with a little or no concentrates. The seasonal fluctuation in availability of fodder
from natural pasture and scarcity of feed and fodder resources (both quantity and quality) primarily affect
the nutrition in animals, which results in low production and reproductive performance, slow growth rate,
loss of body condition and increased susceptibility to diseases and parasites. Low production potential
of animals, non-availability of critical inputs/services in time, access to capital and markets also hamper
the dairy production. The effective utilization of the available feed and fodder resources and appropriate
supplementation of poor quality crop residue and natural pasture appears to be the necessary steps to
alleviate the nutritional stress of dairy animals. An array of technologies- feed and feeding interventions
have been developed and demonstrated their potential in improving the productivity of dairy animals at
field level with varying success. However, enormous efforts are required to upscale and outscale their
adoption through different extension agencies by educating farmers on efficient management of limited
resources to ensure the long term sustainability and profitability of animal production system. This can
be achieved by the favourable policy and actions in terms of access to micro-credit, assured market and
veterinary services.