Prioritizing Strategies for Sustainable Urban Dairy Management: Evidence using the Analytical Hierarchy Process

Abstract

Urban and peri-urban dairies are vital for milk supply in rapidly growing cities but pose significant challenges through waste mismanagement, methane emissions, water contamination, and zoonotic risks. Hyderabad, with one of the highest concentrations of urban dairies in India, presents a critical case where relocation to city outskirts, attempted in other metropolitan areas, has proven unsustainable amid rapid urban expansion. This study employed the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to prioritize strategies for managing dairy externalities, utilizing pairwise comparisons from 70 experts representing scientists, researchers, and policymakers. Five themes, Capacity Building, Emission Control, Waste Recycling, Governance & Monitoring, and Environmental Buffering, were evaluated. Results show Capacity Building (29.1%) and Emission Control (24.8%) as the most important themes, followed by Waste Recycling (19.9%), Governance (16.2%), and Buffering (10.0%). Among strategies, training on waste handling (S1.1), scientific feeding (S2.1), zoonotic awareness (S1.2), and breed improvement (S2.2) were top-ranked, while relocation of dairies and buffer enforcement received the least weight. Integrating costs revealed that training, awareness, and feeding practices represent low-cost, high-priority quick wins, while biogas plants and breed improvement are strategic, resource-intensive investments. The study offers a phased roadmap that aligns urban dairy management with sustainable urbanization and climate mitigation goals.