8th March: Celebrating Women in Dairy

India is ranked 1st in milk production, contributing 24% of global milk production. Milk production in the country has grown at a compound annual growth rate of about 6.2 %?to reach 209.96 Mn Tonnes in 2020-21 from 146.31 Mn Tonnes in 2014-15.

Approximately 70 million of 147 million rural households are dairying for their livelihoods. The unorganized sector handles around 70% of the national milk volume. Of the remaining 30 per cent, dairy cooperatives handle 16%, and large private processors handle 14% of milk volume.?

Dairy provides a secondary source of income to many marginal and medium-sized farmers. Some studies suggest that women provide nearly 70 per cent of labour in the dairy sector, making it one of the most empowering activities for women to ensure dairy/weekly income.

Women are the backbone of the Indian dairy sector by making up the biggest labour pool supporting every aspect of the dairy value chain. The contribution made by women in upstream dairying is unparallel, especially in ensuring fodder availability to animals, animal care and milk delivery to the village-level collection centres till the use of cow dung does not go to waste.

We should give credit where it's due: NDP-I should be credited for promoting the role of women in Indian dairy as the program interventions were designed to reduce poverty and empower women. In the 18 states participating in the program under the National Dairy Plan Phase I, specific focus was given to gender integration at all three levels, i.e. farmer's level, functionary level and institutional level.

The following steps were taken to ensure better inclusion of women:

• Promoting the formation of new Women's Dairy Cooperative Societies
• Improving enrolment of women members in existing and new Dairy Cooperative Societies
• Improving the involvement of women in leadership roles as members of management committees and on boards of milk unions.
• Inclusion of more women as field functionaries.
• Gender integration in all the training and capacity building programs.
• Ensuring the participation of women in capacity building programs.
• Providing advisory services directly to women beneficiaries.