Economic Analysis of Milk Production and its Disposal Pattern in IDDP Area ofMeghalaya State

摘要

Dairy farming especially rearing of crossbred is a costly enterprise especially for the resource poor dairy farmers. The dairy co-operative societies (DCS) in Meghalaya formed under the aegis of IDDP played an instrumental role in reviving dairying inthe state. DCS provide both backward and forward linkages in the entire milk supply chain starting form induction of dairy animals to procurement of milk. Through better managemental practices and rearing better breed, it has been found that the milk production, productivity, per capita consumption and marketed surplus of beneficiary's households were higher than that of non- beneficiaries. Beneficiary's households were able to produce milk at a lower cost ie. Rs. 17.51/ litre as compared to Rs. 20.20/litre in case of non-beneficiaries. The study also shows that rearing of crossbred is profitable with beneficiaries earning a net return of Rs. 2.08/ litre of milk production and Re. 1.0 in case of non-beneficiaries. A sizable portion of the total maintenance cost accounting 80 to 82 per cent was attributed to feed cost alone which need managemental intervention for cost reduction. Cultivation of fodders, treating dry fodder with urea and silage preparation offers a suitable option for reducing expenseson feed in the region. Marketed surplus accounted for about 95 per cent of the total milk production indicating that dairying is the major source of livelihood for the resource poor dairy farmers. There exist wide variations in disposal pattern of milkby the beneficiary's and non-beneficiaries households. Sales of milk in organized sector accounted for 85 per cent for beneficiary's households compared to only 44 per cent in case of non-beneficiaries. For overall development of dairying in the state there is a need to integrate the non-beneficiaries into the ambit of cooperatives structure.