Project Proposal:
Livelihood Improvement through Dairy Farming
Introduction
India has the largest livestock population in the world and accounts for about 57.3 per cent
of the world’s buffalo population and 14.7 per cent of the cattle population. Not only we have
the largest livestock population, we are also the world’s largest producer and consumer of
milk. As per NDDB, 140 million tonnes of milk was produced in the year 2013-’14.
Dairying supports a large number of rural families, by offering around 80 million people with
the triple benefits of nutrition, additional income and employment. The unique characteristic
of the Indian Dairy is that 62% of the total milk produced in the country comes from
smallholder milk producers. Another interesting feature is the involvement of women in
dairying who comprise 71 % of the labour force in livestock farming. Studies reveal that for
small landholders, farming integrated with dairying is advantageous and much more
economical than crop farming alone. There are several advantages that animal husbandry
offers and therefore many consider agriculture and animal husbandry to exist in economic
symbiosis. Dairying not only provides milk which has a large market but also provides
employment during the lean agricultural season and other benefits. Cow dung and cow urine
are excellent source of nutrients when applied to the fields and help in improving soil fertility
and productivity. Also cow dung can be used as an excellent source of fuel by converting it
to biogas. Integration of dairying with farming therefore has huge potential to alleviate
poverty in rural areas.
Animals have been reared traditionally in rural areas for multiple functions, and therefore
adoption of scientific measures to improve the performance of dairy animals will neither
disturb the agro-economic systems nor the socio-cultural aspects of the farmers.
There are estimates that expected demand for milk by the end of 2020 will be 180 million
tonnes, and to achieve this there is a need to enhance milk production. These facts show
that there is a huge scope for increasing milk production through involvement of small
landowners and adoption of profitable dairy farming.
Project Rationale
Tribal livelihood is closely interconnected with natural resources, and most of the tribal
communities are related to primary sector for their everyday needs. Most of the tribal
communities derive their income from agriculture and allied activities like beekeeping,
weaving, cattle rearing etc.
These tribal communities have been following age old practices for their everyday living and
vocation, and therefore most of tribal pockets are still poverty struck. There is a need for
technological advancement and adoption of scientific methods to improvise and diversify
their existing livelihood options. Even though dairying has been an age old occupation in
several parts of the country, farmers are still ignorant about the huge potential of dairy
business and also lack knowledge regarding livestock management. It has been observed
that tribal dairy farmers in particular are deficient in knowledge regarding breeding, feeding,
health care and overall livestock management. There is an urgent need to organise training
programmes for tribal dairy families, so that they adopt scientific dairy management
practices. To improve the income of farmers along with increasing milk production, there is
an urgent need to train the farmers for efficient management of cattle. This will help in
poverty alleviation and also help in meeting the growing demand for milk.
This project thus aims at tapping the potential of tribal dairy to meet the demand of the local
area, through investment on awareness generation, capacity building and purchase of
improved breed of cows. Considering the socio-cultural and financial needs of the villages,
we have proposed a project that is socially feasible, economically viable and
environmentally sound.
Social Feasibility: The project will help in the betterment of the conditions in the
project area. Constitution and strengthening of local institutions in the form of Micro
Dairy Units, will improve the social networking and collaboration amongst the
associated members and also other villagers.
Economical Viability: The project diversifies means of livelihoods of the identified
families, thereby enhancing incomes of the families through sale of cow’s milk.
Activities planned in the project are profitable and have a possibility of further
expansion. Selling milk in bulk quantities to nearby dairy will help them to negotiate a
better price, thereby improving the net returns.
Environmentally Sound: Project activities do not have any adverse impact on
environment. All activities suit the ecology of the area and will only improve soil
condition of the farms through application of cow dung as manure. The entire process
of milk production is organic and no artificial means will be adopted to enhance milk
production.
Project Area
Panchmahal, is one of the most backward districts of Gujarat State in India, and is one of
the six districts in Gujarat which receives funding from the Backward Regions Grant Fund
Programme (BRGF). As per the 2011 census, 86% of the population of Panchmahal lives in
rural areas. The total Panchmahal district population living in rural areas is 2,055,949 of
which males and females are 1,053,376 and 1,002,573 respectively. The economy of the
district is mainly agriculture.
Santrampur is one of the poorest talukas of Panchmahal district and most villages in the
talukas belong to the poorest categories of villages in Gujarat and in north western India.
The main source of livelihood for the villagers is agriculture production and earning wages
from agricultural as well as non-farm work. Most villages in the block still follow traditional
agricultural practises and possess small land holdings.
Project Description
Aim: To improve the livelihoods of 50 rural families in Santrampur block, Panchmahal
district of Gujarat through adoption of scientific dairying practices.
Objective
1. Institutionalize two village level Micro Dairy Units (MDU) in 2 identified villages
of Santrampur block, Panchmahal, comprising of 25 farmers in each.
2. To build capacities of the 50 MDU members through training on various
aspects of dairy farming practices.
3. To establish viable market linkages to sell milk and other dairy products
produced in the two MDUs.
Beneficiaries:
The direct beneficiaries of the project will be 50 rural families in the two villages of
Santrampur Block, Panchamahal, district of Gujarat.
Activities: The project will be implemented through the following three major activities.
Awareness Generation
Awareness camps on
dairy farming
practices
Capacity building
Orientation and
capacity building of
MDU members
Marketing
Linkages with
existing
Dairy and
government
Departments
A. AWARENESS GENERATION
1. Awareness Camps: Our team will conduct a series (Two camps will be
organised in each village) of awareness generation campaigns in the
villages, so as to sensitise the rural families about our project and about
integrated dairy farming. Even though many families in the villages have
cattle, they are not utilising them efficiently for dairy purposes. This is
mainly because there is a general lack of awareness on scientific ways of
animal husbandry amongst the families. Most often only milk is utilised and
cow dung, cow urine are considered a waste, during the awareness
camps, experts will provide insight on how both cow dung and cow urine
can be utilised for improving soil fertility.
2. Identification of beneficiaries: 25 families will be identified in each village.
Priority will be given to families that belong to extreme poverty and do not have any
other source of income. Also families where the head is a woman will be given
preference. Another factor that will be considered while selecting the beneficiaries will
be that the family should not own a cow. A total of 50 families will be identified in the
two villages.
B. CAPACITY BUILDING
1. Formation and orientation of MDU members: The identified members will be
grouped together to form a Micro Dairy Unit (MDU), in each village. The members of
the MDU will be trained on various aspects of group management and cooperation.
Project staff will motivate the members to work collectively in order to improve their
incomes.
2. Developing MDU guidelines: To ensure smooth functioning of the MDU, it is
essential that a set of rules and regulations are drafted. This set of guidelines will
help in the effective management and administration of the MDU. MDU members will
suggest feasible rules for running their MDU. The rules will contain the details on the
following: Number of meetings to be conducted monthly, membership fees, process
of amendment of bylaws, process of collecting milk from each member, reserve
funding, introduction of new members etc.
3. Identification and capacity building of Group Leaders: To ensure that MDUs
work efficiently and there is proper communication with the project team, two group
leaders will be selected from each MDU. The role of these leaders will be ensuring
that the MDUs follow the guidelines properly and a proper communication channel is
maintained with the NGO project team. The leaders will also help in milk collection
from the individual households and transporting it to the Dairy. Leadership training
will be imparted to the four leaders.
4. Training on aspects of dairy farming: 30 days long training will be organised for
the MDU members on the following aspects of Dairy farming.
Animal Breeding
Reproduction
Calving and Calf Rearing
Animal Nutrition/Feed and Fodder Management
Milk Production
Milk Testing, Milk Handling and Storage
Animal Housing and Shelter
Health Management
Animal Disease Prevention and Control
Disposal of Dung and Dairy Waste Materials
Dairy Farm Equipment
Dairy Farm Economics
5. On Site Dairy training: Once the 30 day training is complete, the 50 MDU
members will participate in a three day onsite dairy training. The main purpose of the
on field training will be to see how effectively the MDU members utilise the training on
field. Also, this training will help in learning by doing. With these skills, they will have
the ability to properly manage and improve their own dairying practices.
6. Purchase and distribution of Cows: Once the training is complete, we will buy
improved breeds of cows and distribute it to the 50 members of the MDU. We will
ensure that the cows are at their second lactation and will also get them insured.
A register will be maintained where in the details of the MDU member will be
collected. The MDU members will sign the register on receiving the cow.
7. Animal Health camp: There is a provision of organising two animal health camps
during the project duration. The camps will not only address the need of the 50 MDU
members, but will also deal with the issues that other villagers are facing.
Vaccination, fodder distribution and check up of the cattle in the villages will be
conducted by Veterinary officers.
8. Exposure visit to a Dairy farm: The MDU members will be taken for
exposure visit to a dairy farm where they will get the opportunity to meet other
dairy farmers. This meeting will help them in understanding the nitty-gritty’s
involved in dairy farming.
9. Refresher training: Refresher training will be conducted in the third
quarter, so as to provide necessary feedback to the MDU members.
C. MARKET LINKAGE
Proper market linkages will have to be developed to ensure that the milk produced in
the two MDUs is consumed and the MDU gets a good price for it. There is a dairy
located at 30 kilo metres from the villages and we shall develop linkages with this
dairy to buy milk from the MDU. Some milk will also be sold to nearby hotels and
hostels.
Along with market linkages, we shall also develop linkages with the animal
husbandry department and veterinary department, so that the MDU members can
receive support from government.
Activity Chart
S.
Activities
No.
1. Awareness Generation
Formation
2. and
orientation
of Micro Dairy Units
3. Developing MDU
guidelines.
4. Capacity building of Group
leaders.
5. Training on Dairy practices
6. On site field training
Purchase and distribution of
7. cows
8. Exposure visit
Networking
for building
9. marketing linkages
Reporting
and
10. Communication
11. Refresher training
12.
Animal Health
Camp
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
1
2
3
4
5
6
Project Results
1. Increased awareness among the residents of two villages in Panchamahal district
on dairy practices and management of Livestock.
2. Improvement in livestock management and health in the two villages of
Panchmahal district.
3. Enhanced income of 50 families through sale of milk to the nearby dairy.
4. Establishment of market linkages with the nearby dairy and other government
departments.
Implementation Staff
1. Project Manager: One Project manager will be hired, who shall be responsible for
project management and implementation.
2. Community Mobilizer: Two community mobilizers will be hired for arranging field
visits, awareness camps, and mobilising the community.
Monitoring & Evaluation
In order to achieve the desired goal, it will be mandatory to develop a strong
monitoring and evaluation system for the project. The project team will regularly
update the progress made against stated objectives of the project and will make
adjustments to tackle any delay in the deliverable.
Also, we plan to have a multilevel review and evaluation system that will help in
keeping track of the project and also advising amendments to cope with any
challenge. The multilevel review system will comprise of the MDU team leaders,
Project Manager and two members from the MDU (on a rotating matter). Also the
leaders of the MDUs will meet the project team on a monthly basis to report and
update the project progress.
To monitor the cash inflow & outflow of the project, the project manager will support
the team leaders of the two MDUs.
Sustainability
Establishment of MDU will help in long term sustenance of the project even after the
implementation agency exits the place. As there is a ready market for milk, the
MDUs will continue to supply milk to the dairy in the long run. The project has been
planned in a way that it will reach breakeven point within the first year itself. The
project staff will however support the project for 18 months and in case of any
uncertainty will support the MDUs.
The trained MDU members will work as catalysts of change and will help other
villagers to adopt dairying for enhancing their incomes.
Budget:
INR 4500000 (Rupees Forty Five Lac.)
Project Budget Outline
INR
1.
Project Personnel
882000
2.
Administrative Support
200000
3.
Official Travel
50000
4.
Training
250000
5.
Vehicle
300000
6.
Animal Health camp
100000
7.
Exposure Visit
25000
8.
Purchase of Cattle with insurance (50 cows)
2500000
9.
M&E
100000
10.
Contingency
43000
Grand Total
4500000
Budget Narrative
1. Project Personnel: 1 project manager to be hired at INR 25000/month and two
community mobilizers at INR 12000/month for 18 months.
2. Administrative support: staff time for the finance officer and accountant at
approximately INR11000/month for 18 months.
3. Office travel: official visits as and when required through public transport.
4. Vehicle: to carry milk from the two MDUs to the nearest dairy located at 30
kilometres from the villages.
5. Animal Health camp: two camps to be organised with a total expense of INR
50000/camp. This will include the medicines, supplements, refreshments,
logistics and veterinary officer fees.
6. Training: This includes the honorarium for the trainer, onsite field training, and
training module development.
7. Purchase of cattle: INR 50000/cow inclusive of the insurance premium.
Project Implementing Agency (PIA)
AAA is a non-profit, and non- governmental charitable organization, working in
Panchmahal Distict of Gujarat. AAA was established in the year 1996 with a view to
alleviate poverty from the backward regions of Gujarat. The mission of AAA is to
improve the livelihoods of the tribal people through the adoption of scientific methods
and technological advances. Over the last three decades, we are striving to
empowering the illiterate and poverty stricken people of this region, and
mainstreaming them into the society.
Objectives:
To work towards up-liftment of tribal communities in Gujarat.
To support government agencies in implementing their projects and schemes
in the local area.
To disseminate information on government schemes, policy, acts to the local
people.
To sensitise people about new research and support in adoption of new
technology.
To conduct motivational and skill based technical training in order to promote
self-employment amongst the tribal communities.
The organisation has implemented several projects on livelihood improvement in the
area, and therefore is well equipped to implement the project successfully.