India is one of the leading countries in milk production and consumption. In fact, it accounts for about 25% of the global milk production. The dairy industry is largely dependent on the availability of sufficient quality milk at various points across the supply chain, including production, processing, storage and distribution. Indian dairy farmers face many challenges.
However, there are several constraints that hinder the progress of India's dairy industry. These include:
Unavailability of chilling facilities at village level for milk preservation-
Milk needs storage due to its low shelf life, this results in an unsold supply of milk at the end of each month. Local dairy business men do not have a refrigerator and hence cannot store fresh milk for later use.
Poor knowledge about scientific animal husbandry practices and dairy farming-
Lack of education and hygiene practices on the dairy farm are significant barriers to educating about these issues, which in turn has an impact on dairy products. They do not give much importance to hygiene practices on the farm. They don't provide enough information relating to hygiene and the importance of hygiene on dairy farms.FarmLokal also educates about the importance of hygiene practice in the farm.
Not getting the expected price for milk produced-
The dairy industry is one of the largest industries in the world. It produces an incredible amount of milk and it is important to get fair prices for your product as well. Many small dairy business men had problems in the market as they were not aware of the market price of dairy products not getting fair price for their Dairy product. FarmLokal helps dairy farmers by providing a platform where they can sell their product at an affordable price and get high profit margins.FarmLokal is a service, which helps dairy farmers to get good prices for their milk. It includes fair raw milk price and proper market information.
Knowledge of mastitis in dairy animals-
The farmers have no idea about the disease and how to take care of their cattle in order to stop it from affecting the dairy cattle. Due to lack of education they don't know about the disease suffered by cattle. Dairy farmers don't visit veterinarians for regular checkups due to which cattle suffering from disease sometimes die. Therefore, this is a big concern and FarmLokal wants to raise awareness about this important topic through its own platform.
Lack of awareness about quality milk production-
Small dairy farmers are not aware of the importance of feeding management. Leading to low productivity, decreased milk quality and high variability in yield. FarmLokal makes them aware about the feeding in quality milk production.
Lack of milk testing and animal screening facilities-
The local dairy milk men were not used to checking the quality of milk. They believe in the traditional methods; not in scientific proven methods or machines.
Lack of finance to invest in dairy business -
Small milkmen are those who run a business in their locality, which is mostly served by their family members. They don't have any money to invest and are unaware of the government schemes for promoting dairy farmers. Their main objective is to make a living for their families, who depend on them a lot.
Farmlokal put together this handy guide with everything you need to know about feeding your livestock and quality production of fresh milk.