A gendered assessment of the Mulukanoor Women’s Cooperative Dairy value chain, Telangana, India

Kumara Swamy, Michael Blümmel, Jean-Joseph Cadilhon, Kathleen Earl Colverson, Yerradoddi Ramana Reddy and Thanammal Ravichandran

 8th International Conference of the Asian Society of Agricultural Economists (ASAE) on Viability of Small Farmers in Asia 2014, Saver, Bangladesh, 15-17 August 2014

Contents

Introduction

Study area

Research hypothesis

Methodology

Results

Conclusion

Recommendations

Context/Introduction

Crop-livestock farming plays a major role in livelihood of rural community in India

90% of dairy farmers are small and marginal farmers (NSS, 2006) with less productive animals

Poor bargaining power and lack of capital investment restrict to link markets

Collective way of marketing and services like cooperatives will help them to improve livelihood

Cooperatives played a major role in dairy development in India for last 4 decades through operation flood program

Women play a major role in dairy production and management

Research Hypothesis

Gender based value chain assessment was doneTo understand the gender roles and relations in the dairy value chain (needs, status, capacities, roles and constraints)

To formulate business expansion strategies of women based dairy cooperative

Study area

Mulukanoor Women Cooperative Dairy (MWCD) Demanded ILRI for study on gendered assessment for 

business expansion This dairy is supporting 110 villages with 25kms radius

KARIMNAGAR DISTRICT

WARANGAL DISTRICT

KHAMMAM DISTRICT

CHHATTISGARH STATE

MAHARASHTRA STATE

ADILABAD DISTRICTNIZAMABAD DISTRICT

MEDAK DISTRICT

NALGONDA DISTRICT

MWCD KamalapurShanigaram

KandugulaChigurumamidi

Basvapur

ThatikondaDharmasagar

Tharigoppula

PecharaMallampalli

Antakkapet

Bommakal

www.mapsofindia.com

Methodology

F-Female, M-Male

Analysis Qualitative gender based analysis

Descriptive statistics

Results

Gender roles 

Area of activities Men Women

Agriculture Ploughing Sowing

Purchase inputs Weeding

Irrigation infrastructure Harvesting

Transport  Threshing

Marketing Packing

Livestock Animal health Fodder collection

Breeding Feeding

Cleaning shed

Dairy animals Marketing milk Milking

Sweet manufacturing Marketing milk

Gender importance

• More labour hours by women for dairy activities than men

• Decision making- mostly combine 

• High income share from milk sale by women 

• High income share from cattle sale by men 

• Service providers/stakeholders- paravet, veterinarian, AI/NS 

service provider, sweet shops, feed seller, milk traders- Mostly 

men

Existing area- dairy value chain

Dairy producers

Own consumption

Neighbours

Hotels

Vijaya Dairy

Nagarjuna Dairy

MWCD

MarketingInput

credit

Animal health,

insurance

Breed

Extension service

FeedMWCD

BanksMoney lenders

State government

MWCD Insurance to women members

Informal marketing-traders

In existing area Traders numbers decreased competition with MWDC Other livelihood options-business, transport, agriculture labour

Most of the milk from small dairy farmers >95%

Pricing system

Existing area- good price through cooperativeProspective area- exploitation by traders

Conclusion

Women play a major role in dairy farming activities

Men play major role in marketing services and service provision- not restricting the women to sell milk or getting service

Cooperative system is beneficial for women for better price and input services

Informal marketing through traders is exploiting the farmers 

High value added products like sweet from Khoa are from rain-fed area

Recommendations

Increase the procurement- expansion of area 5-10 km or open membership for men (non-members in existing area- but no compromise on women empowerment)

Feed related interventions need improvement (fodder seed, feed unit expansion, chopping the fodder)

Long term business agreement with sweet manufacturers 

Supply milk to other cities and 24 hrs. milk booths

Comparison study for decision making and impact - women only & mixed cooperatives

Acknowledgements

This work was undertaken as part of, and funded by, the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish, led by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and by the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). This presentation has not gone through IFPRI’s standard peer-review procedure. The opinions expressed here belong to the authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of PIM, IFPRI, or CGIAR