Women Empowerment

The dairy and animal husbandry industries are vital to the rural economy, particularly for small and marginal farmers. They are not only a source of revenue, but also their best protection against natural disasters. Dairying has been a godsend to dairy farmers, as well as those elements of society that have historically been marginalized, such as small landholders, landless laborers, and women. It has given people who previously relied solely on payments from tiny seasonal crops or on occasional labor a year-round source of income. Dairying now accounts for up to 60-65 percent of the revenue of this category (marginal and small-scale farmers). In terms of profit, dairying in rural areas outperformed crop production. In marginal, small, and medium-sized properties, dairying outperformed crop production in terms of profit. Dairying and crop production were more profitable than crop farming alone for small-scale farmers with irrigated land. Over time, dairying has evolved into a full-fledged industry in the country, improving the lives of those involved in the industry, whether directly or indirectly, and resulting in significant social changes. Dairy Indian agriculture is an economic symbiosis of crop and cow population in India. India’s dairy business is dominated by millions of rural smallholder milk producers, who account for 62 percent of the country’s total milk production. Milk animals are fed crop waste, and the faces of milk animals is used as crop manure. Today, the dairy industry provides nutritional food, supplemental income, and useful employment for family labor, primarily for women, to 80 million rural households. Animal husbandry is a source of self-employment for millions of rural households. Dairying using crossbred cattle and high-yielding buffaloes has shown to be a profitable venture.

In India, women make up the majority of farmers, and rural women make up the largest group of people involved in agricultural and animal husbandry. Animal husbandry is generally regarded a farm woman’s work in rural settings. It has also been discovered that women are better at managing dairy animals than men. Women are generally thought to be capable of handling the majority of the key components of dairy animal husbandry. Feeding, breeding, milking, cleaning, and caring for new born claves and sick animals are among these aspects. Rural women are sometimes responsible for the selling of animal products as well as the delivery of feed and hay for cattle. The contribution of rural women towards dairy animal nutrition and fuel need of the family is as imperative as milk for sale. Rural women are well versed with each of animal’s behaviour and production characteristics. They also possess good knowledge about local feed resources for feeding of dairy animals. Although the experiences of women regarding animal diseases and production are ignored yet they can solve such problems in a nice manner.