The recent momentum seen in dairy farming through out the country is catching up in Kerala state too. Many village-based dairy units run by Kudumbasree groups have been functioning in many parts of the State for some time now. A workable model for such simple, but organised system of milk production and distribution was launched in the Idukki district way back in 2007, when G.S. Madhu, as district coordinator for Kudumbasree Project, initiated a cluster dairy project in Edavetty grama panchayat in Idukki district.
The project became very popular and inspired launching of similar projects in Kannadi (Palakkad), Alagappanagar (Thrissur), Sasthamkotta (Kollam), Thidanadu (Kottayam ), Sreekaryam and Pookulam (Thiruvananthapuram) with women’s Joint Liability groups being engaged in production and distribution.
In Edavetty itself the enterprise has to be discontinued, mainly due to the presence of middlemen in distribution and transportation. Learning from the past mistakes, a new Commodity Interest Group (CIG), Ponpulari, in Uppukunnu of Udumbannoor Grama Panchayat of Idukki, has started a similar but, better organized cluster dairy unit in 2010, under the supervision and guidance of Dr. Madhu, now Deputy Project Director of Agricultural Technology Management Agency, Idukki.
The immediate provocation for the new venture is the failure of cash crops in Idukki, especially the pepper vine due to bacterial and fungal wilt, and the resultant financial crunch. As a sop to the financial crisis and with Women’s Empowerment as a long term motive, the new venture was obviously an all-women endeavour.
Ponpulari started the cluster dairy farming with 10 members, who attended training programmes on scientific dairying at Kerala Livestock development Board, Mattupetty; Director of Entrepreneurship under the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Mannuthy; and Animal Husbandry Department at Thodupuzha. The project was established with the help of District Kudumabsree Mission - the poverty alleviation programme of the State of Kerala.
The 10 founding members started dairying at their own land, each with two cows. Cattle sheds were constructed at elevated place with good ventilation facilities, scientific flooring and cleaning of cattle shed facilities, which are the main domains of success in dairying, says Dr. Madhu.
Periodic screening of milk for mastitis, through California Mastitis Test; appropriate scientific interventions in breeding, feeding and managing disease control and marketing measures is the secret behind the success of Ponpulary in dairying, T. P. Sethumadhavan, Director of Entrepreneurship, KVASU.
The group sells the milk under the brand name, Nature Fresh Milk. Mainly the group collects milk from the members, who ensure the milk is made available as single cow-milk. Tigi Anandan, secretary of the CIG claims that consumers are ready to pay premium price for good quality single-cow milk, if it is made available. The group sells milk at the premium price of Rs.50 per litre. Ms. Tigi claims that she is earning Rs.60,000 a month as profit, only through dairying, now that she has nine cows at her farm, with she and her husband fully involved in the venture.
Moreover, she is getting added income through the sale of manure and calves, for which there is good demand, she says. Ponpulari sells around 500 litres of milk daily, packed in 650 ml and one litre bottles. The women’s group concentrated on selling high quality farm fresh milk within a 19 km locality a role model of an enterprise with ‘Small is Beautiful’ as its guiding spirit.
wymnj@thehindu.co.in
