Dairy Farming: A Demand Driven Sector

Dairy farming is the agricultural technique concerned with the long term production of milk, which is then processed to obtain dairy products such as curd, cheese, yoghurt, butter, cream, etc. It involves the management of dairy animals such as cows, buffaloes, sheep, goat, etc.The state of Jammu and Kashmir has a tremendous potential for the development of dairy farming due to its vast fields of agricultural land and alpine green pastures etc. In Jammu and Kashmir, about 80 percent of population lives in rural areas and about 60 percent are dependent on agriculture. The animal rearing for milk and milk products in particular and meat purposes in general is one of the growing and demand driven sector in the Jammu and Kashmir as it provides employment to thousands of people. It contributes well to the economy of the people as well as to the economy of Jammu and Kashmir. For the past two decades, the population growth of Jammu and kashmir has increased and the demand for milk and milk related products like butter, cheese etc also have increased that surged milk prices very high. Due to unawareness and education among the youth and people about the modern dairy farming and technologies, the Jammu and Kashmir has been mostly dependent on outside milk and its products. Although, some good initiatives have been taken by the government for the past many years by launching important dairy schemes for development of the dairy sector that bore to some fruition and results are witnessing every district of Jammu and kashmir particularly in pulwama district.
To strengthen the production, procurement, processing and marketing of dairy industry, the government of jammu and kashmir is providing awareness programmes, short term skill development training, guidance and counseling and sound financial assistance under various dairy schemes to the youth in particular and people in general of Jammu and kashmir. The government has been also providing high milk yielding breeds of cows like ‘Red Sindhi” to the beneficiaries. Many youth took loans under Integrated Dairy Development Schemes( IDDS) and set up farms under proper guidance of concerned department that proved very successful to them in the form of increased milk production, employment opportunities, enhanced standard of living of poor and middle class families. However, much initiatives are being needed keeping in view the demand of milk and related products, unemployment of educated and talented youth of Jammu and kashmir, poverty of the people, soaring inflation of milk and its products, limited employment opportunities etc. Despite many government schemes available in dairy sector, a little percentage of young educated youth and people have been attracting towards the dairy sector and are taking advantages of dairy schemes. The youth taking advantages of dairy schemes are becoming employers and are providing employments to thousands of unemployed youth and people but the rate of Jammu and kashmir educated youth towards the dairy sector is very low. It is pertinent to mention here that more than ninety percent of educated youth of Jammu and kashmir are waiting years only for government jobs instead standing on their own feet by establishing their small business units despite ample schemes and facilities of government for all sectors available to them.
Wait of educated youth for government jobs for long time due to limited job opportunities particularly in Jammu and Kashmir are adding problems to young youth and fell victim of depressions, anxieties, addictions etc . The young and educated youth are valuable asset of our society and they need support and cooperation from the government and society. The youth also should not stay in their cozy rooms and they must come out to start their own business units like diary farming units as the dairy sector is a demand driven sector in the modern age. The dairy-farming has a potential to generate jobs for thousands of unemployed youth in Jammu and Kashmir but the sector has been also facing challenges like lack of cold storage infrastructure, lack of marketing and milk processing units, transport facility, lack of education, awareness and skill training among youth and people, lack of Health Cover and Risk Management schemes for the dairy farmers, lack of subsidized fodder for diary farmers , high cost of fodders, decreasing green fodder and water due to rising population growth and encroachments of green pastures, lack of dairy cooperatives, lack of veterinary hospitals and veterinary doctors, outbreak of epidemic diseases like Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), non availability of vaccines etc. To make the dairy sector more thriving and progressing, the government of Jammu and Kashmir must come forward for the development of sound dairy infrastructure. Education, awareness and skill training among youth, establishment of veterinary hospitals, recruitment of veterinary doctors, availability of vaccines, development of green pastures, markets, cold storages, milk processing units , affordable, uninterrupted supply of feed and reliable veterinary services can prove very helpful for the dairy industry and it will definitely solve rising unemployment problem, curb rising prices of milk and milk products, raise economy of people and the government of Jammu and Kashmir. Let’s hope more involvement of unemployed youth in the dairy farming for the economy and prosperity of whole Jammu and Kashmir.
( The author is a teacher at Boys Higher Secondary School Beerwah. Views are his own)
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