Over the last few weeks a lot of the pros and cons of the entry of new players have been extensively discussed. It is important at this stage to look at how some of the challenges can be addressed to make dairying more sustainable in Goa. Experience of small dairy farmers in other States in challenging some of the threats to their livelihoods, may provide a way forward for local dairying.
Feed and the quality of the feed provided by Goa Dairy: The quality of feed plays a critical role in determining the health of the animal and therefore quality of the milk (including fat and SNF composition which dictate procurement price of milk). Small farmer cooperatives in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, are finding that to ensure consistent good quality milk they must take control of feed production. They are therefore producing their own feed using husk from locally cultivated grains (e.g. millets, paddy), oil meal residues from locally grown oil seeds and other supplements from locally cultivated crops. The composition of the feed varies with the season. In addition to quality milk it is an agro-ecological way of linking food production to animal husbandry thereby closing the resource loop.
Increasing unavailability of fodder: Fodder is always a challenge given the increasing loss of common grazing lands due to pressure from increasing privatisation of land. Government must support farmers’ efforts to grow fodder collectively and common lands must be made available for this purpose. This must be an integral part of the regional and local planning process.
Quality of cattle and buffalo breeds in Goa: The White Revolution brought in exotic breeds (e.g. Holstein Friesian and Jersey cows) with the intention of increasing milk production. This has become a ‘debt trap’ rather than a source of livelihood for small farmers because of its resource demanding nature – water, fodder, feed and medical care. Local, hardy breeds have vanished. If dairying is to be sustained – farmers get an income from dairying, local resources (water, land) are not over-exploited, medical costs do not escalate – then milk production costs have to come down.
Farmers’ movements across the country and also globally are increasingly emphasizing that livestock rearing and dairying are the only dependable livelihoods given the challenges of climate change to agriculture. As a society we have to find ways to build social and ecological resilience in a bio-diverse and ecologically rich State like Goa if we are to adapt to and mitigate these challenges. In the long-term the only way this can be done is through self-organisation and restoring the linkages rather than separating ourselves into “producers” and “consumers” and disenfranchising ourselves by putting the onus on the State to provide all the answers.
