Awardees Leema Roslein, Parimala Vijayaramesh, A N Rajeshwari, Dabbu Padma, Aligineni Sree Padma were felicitated during the Best Women Dairy Farmer awards ceremony organised by Indian Dairy Association at Karnataka Veterinary Council Hebbal in Bengaluru on Saturday.
DH Photo/B K Janardhan
Hundreds of women dairy farmers from across South India cheered boisterously as five of their comrades were awarded the ‘Best Women Dairy Farmer Award’ on Thursday.
An air of jubilation and pride rent the hall as the delegates participated in the Best Women Dairy Farmer Award Ceremony programme organised by the Indian Diary Association (IDA) at the Veterinary College campus in Hebbal in Bengaluru on Saturday.
The five women are A N Rajeshwari from Karnataka; Leema Roslein S from Kerala and Lakshadweep (UT); Parimala Vijayaramesh from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry; Aligineni Sree Padma from Andhra Pradesh and Dabbu Padma from Telangana.
They were all awarded a cash prize of Rs 20,000 each. About 70 per cent of the dairy farmers are women. Despite it being their part-time occupation, their unwavering dedication has catapulted India to the top spot amongst milk producing nation in the world.
A marriage gift
For Sree Padma, exposure to dairy farming is as old as her marriage. “About 44 years ago, my father-in-law told me that dairy farming was preferable over normal agriculture and I haven’t looked back since,” she asserts.
Rajeshwari, a farmer from Tumakuru district’s Koratagere Taluk, began dairy farming in 2019. “I started with five cows. Now I own 46 and supply 650 litres of milk every day to Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF),” she says.
With the KMF paying around Rs 40 to Rs 42 per litre, she earned Rs 66,39,778 in 2023. However, she laments that 75 to 80% of her turnover is drained towards the maintenance of the cows. “Providing adequate fodder and having the manpower to handle the cows are the biggest challenges that we face,” Rajeshwari adds.
Manpower is a major roadblock as farmers struggle to find local workers. Parimala and Dabbu Padma say their family members also chip in, thus helping them to manage the cattle. However, those with more cattle depend on workers from the north of India.
Cows preferred
Sree Padma, who also owns 10 buffaloes, elaborates why cows are preferable. “ A cow costs around Rs 1 lakh while a buffalo costs 1.5 lakh,” she says. Even though Buffalo milk is costlier, a buffalo yields only 10 litres a day. Since cows yield around 17 to 18 litres, they are economically feasible too, she adds.
Earlier, IDA South zone chairman Satish Kulkarni spoke about the IDA’s initiatives to increase entrepreneurial tendencies in women farmers. He nostalgically recollected that IDA was started in Bangalore in 1949. IDA President Dr R S Sodhi and KVAFSU, Bidar Vice-Chancellor Dr K C Veeranna also spoke on the occasion.