tailieunhanh - A REVIEW OF MILK PRODUCTION IN INDIA WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON SMALL-SCALE PRODUCERS

Reproductive traits describe the animal’s ability to conceive, calve down and suckle the calf to weaning successfully (Davis 1993). These traits are important since they affect the herd size and off take. Reproductive performance is commonly evaluated by analysing female reproductive traits. The traits regularly considered include age at first calving, calving interval and calving rate. Male fertility traits are rarely included in genetic evaluations despite their influence on the female reproductive performance. These traits include semen quality and quantity traits and scrotal size | International Farm Comparison Network IFCN Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Initiative A Review of Milk Production in India with Particular Emphasis on Small-Scale Producers Torsten Hemme Otto Garcia and Amit Saha A Living from Livestock PPLPI Working Paper No. 2 PREFACE This is the second of a series of Working Papers prepared by the Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Initiative. The purpose of this series is to review issues affecting livestock development in relation to poverty alleviation. The livestock sector plays a vital role in the economies of many developing countries. It provides food or more specifically animal protein in human diets income employment and possibly foreign exchange. For low income producers livestock also serve as a store of wealth provide draught power and organic fertiliser for crop production and a means of transport. Consumption of livestock and livestock products in the developing countries though starting from a low base is growing rapidly. The current document begins with a general overview of milk production in India. This is followed by a detailed study of dairy farming in Haryana State particularly of the small-scale producers owning two to four milking animals who form the majority. The purpose is to assess their prospects for earning more from dairy farming and to identify which areas of intervention in terms of management or policy are likely to be most favourable to them and whether they are vulnerable to international competition. A further objective has been to evaluate the methodology developed by the International Farm Comparison Network IFCN which is based on the concept of typical farms . It is hoped that the paper stimulates discussion and any feedback would be gratefully received by the authors and the Livestock Information and Policy Branch of the Animal and Production and Health Division of FAO. About the Authors Torsten Hemme PhD Head IFCN Dairy Dairy economist at FAL-Federal Agricultural Research Center Network management at .