Kerala’s quest for self-reliance in milk production is still a work in progress. Successive governments have promised to make Kerala a land that flows with milk (if not honey) during their tenure, but despite all the promises, Kerala remains a milk-deficit State, the situation turning rather disconcerting during the summer months with questions about the quality of milk that comes into the State from outside popping up from different quarters. But all that could be changing if the signs from the ground now are anything to go by.
Time was when most homes had a pair of cattle to take care of their milk requirement or families engaged in cattle rearing met the milk needs of the local community. With the dairy sector evolving as an organised activity and cooperatives taking over the production and distribution of milk, there was a quantum leap in use of technology and adoption of modern distribution practices. But, over time, the momentum flagged, leaving homesteads largely dependent on milk arriving from neighbouring States, especially during festival seasons when the demand peaked. With grasslands and paddy fields vanishing, farmers began shifting from the dairy sector to other activities. Compared with the work involved, the realisations were too low. The cost of fodder was on a constant upswing over the past five years, though milk prices did not register a commensurate increase. This is where the subtle switch in strategy that the State government appears to be making could prove beneficial in the long run.
Cooperatives
This shift has to do with the government turning its focus to dairy farmers rather than dairy cooperatives and, as a result, there appears to be a new vigour on the milk production front with one top official anticipating a possible 20 per cent overall increase in milk output in the State by end of 2017-18. That might still be far away from the goal of self-sufficiency in milk production and consumption, but it could mark a significant turnaround after the steady dip in milk production over the past several years when the enthusiasm of the White Revolution days in the 1970s seemed to have waned. For Kerala, which was in the vanguard of the White Revolution, the present trend is a definite positive as milk availability in the State had fallen from a high of 234 g a day in 2001-02 to 200 g a day by 2015-16, suggesting that the many efforts made by the State government to push up milk production did not have the desired effect.
What is new? “Our effort now is to focus our attention on the farmers even as we support the organised cooperatives and other segments of the dairy sector. Although many have not noticed it, all the measures of the government in recent months have been aimed at ensuring that the dairy farmers get a remunerative price for their products, get fodder at subsidised price and growth in the stock of cows and calves increases in tune with the needs of the State,” Georgekutty Jacob, Director, Dairy Development, told The Hindu . He pointed out that when milk price was increased recently, the estimation of fat and SNF (solid-not-fat) content for each litre was done in such a way that the farmers stood to gain the maximum from the measure. The farmers thus got an additional 35 paise to a litre. Earlier, the bigger share of price hike used to go to the dairy cooperatives, who had the technology and wherewithal to peg the fat and SNF content to their advantage.
Summer and fodder
January to May is considered to be the lean season for milk production in the State. With the approach of summer, fodder availability diminishes and milk production falls. During these months, the State depends more on neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for milk. According to the Kerala State Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Milma), the average arrival of milk from the two neighbouring States has reached 3.8 lakh litres a day this year compared with 1.6 lakh litres last year, suggesting a sharp increase in milk consumption levels even as the State struggles to reverse the fall in production. This is where yet another intervention by the government could prove beneficial for the farmers. The government has changed the norms for provision of fodder subsidy and come out with a debt relief scheme. While the first decision should ensure that farmers would be paid subsidy regardless of whether the implementing agency is the Dairy Development Department or the local government institutions, the latter would help waive loans totalling ₹1 lakh for indigent farmers.
Another silver lining on the horizon is the entry of the Kudumbasree Mission into dairy farming. This has not only provided income to the family but made high quality milk available locally. There are some neighbourhood groups under Kudumbasree that supply branded milk in districts like Idukki. There are also Kudumbasree units selling value-added products like ghee in the open market. Dairy has been identified as area for women empowerment by the Kudumbasree Mission. The transformation from rearing cattle at the level of households to the level of rural entrepreneurship has helped to an extent in compensating for the low phase of increase in milk production as compared to the rise in demand.
Another heartening development is the entry of youth into the dairy sector, caring for high yielding cattle, though this is yet to gather momentum as a movement. The government has set up mother farms at different places to supply quality cattle to these new generation entrepreneurs. To streamline milk production and promote rural employment, the farm and diary sectors go hand in hand. More families are reported to have entered cattle rearing as an additional source of income when the prices of rubber declined. “Normally, there would be a 20% shortage in milk availability during the summer months. On the contrary, there has been a 15% increase in output in the Thiruvananthapuram region and the fall in the Ernakulam region was 4% and that in the Malabar was 8% this time,” said a senior official, indicating that though the situation might still be grim, there is the possibility of the State bridging the milk demand-supply gap to a great extent.
