Dairy production and its implication in household income in the Tarai region of Nepal: a case study of Chitwan district.
Maharjan, Keshav Lall
Introduction
Nepal is a mountainous country with agriculture as its economic
mainstay. The percentage of people dependent on agriculture has declined
gradually from 81% in 1991 to 76% in 2002 (CBS, 2002). Only about 20% of
the total land area can be cultivated in a mountainous country like
Nepal. With the typical geographical condition and other natural
reasons, the government of Nepal has to face many challenges in
providing basic infrastructure facilities and services in most part of
the country. Due to the lack of agricultural infrastructures such as
roads, irrigation and so on, agriculture has remained almost stagnant.
Its share in the gross domestic products has been constantly decreasing.
Although the nature and the form of the problem of farming system in the
Tarai (1) are different from those in the hills and the mountain, they
are no less severe. The Tarai is highly influenced by migration from the
mountains, the hills and neighbouring country India. The phenomenon of
migration has been the most striking reason for the rapid population
growth in the Tarai region. The National Census 1991 reports that the
population in the Tarai is increasing at a rate of 4.2% per annum contrasting with that of 1.6% in the hills and a national average of
2.2%. Such a rapid increase in population density in the Tarai has
considerably increased population pressure on the existing land and
forest resources; consequently the surpluses of food grains have been
rapidly declined. Thus, the production of rood grains alone has not been
able to meet the ever-increasing food needs for the people. Hence,
people have been practicing different economic activities to maintain
their livelihood.
Livestock farming being a major component of Nepalese farming
system is becoming one of the important occupations in the rural area of
Nepal. It contributes 31% of agriculture gross domestic product (GDP),
among this, 53% derived from the hills, 38% from the Tarai and 9% from
the mountains (APP, 1995). Livestock farming, especially, dairy farming alone contributes 78% in total AGDP. It is presently undergoing a
transition phase from subsistence to commercial dairy farming in the
various places of the Tarai region due to the increase of milk marketing
facilities in the area. Dairy farming has been helping the farmers to
earn cash income to fulfill their basic needs, at the same time they can
get manure as by-product and draft power for agricultural production.
One of the other important aspects of dairy farming is to generate
energy in household level for cooking and heating in terms of biogas,
which is produced by decomposition of animal dung into an airtight digester. Biogas technology is one of the technologies that is renewable
and is regarded as directly contributing in minimizing the over use of
traditional energy sources (2) in the rural area where only 1% of the
people have access to the commercial energy sources. In the other hand,
numerous people are involved in the production, processing and trading
of dairy and dairy products. This provides the employment opportunities
for the rural people. Sales of dairy animals, milk and milk products
make up a considerable proportion of the average farmer's income.
Dairy is also a source of supply of animal protein (cows for milk, and
buffalo for milk and meat) through the consumption of milk and milk
products and meat, which can positively effect in improvement of the
health of people. Hence, the analysis of contribution of dairy
production and its implication to the household income in the rural
setting is a research issue. Further, the analysis of occupational
structure and their contribution in household income is also becoming
important. Consequently, the main objective of this study is to analyze
contribution of dairy production to household income and examine the
occupational structure of the rural households. This will further
examine socio-economic characteristics of dairy farmers, dairy
production costs and net return to farm from dairy production and
examining the share of different economic activities among the dairy
farmers.
Methodology
Multistage sampling techiniques were used to select district,
Village Development Committee (VDC) and household for the emperical
study. District and VDC were selected with purposive sampling process
among dairy pocket areas, having relatively high numbers of dairy animal
holdings and high milk production. Households were selected randomly
among the dairy farmers. In order to collect primary data in household
level, detail survey was conducted within 104 households from two VDCs
(dairy pocket areas) in Chitwan district. It comprises 4% of the total
households of surveyed villages. A semi-structured interview approach
was also conducted to collect additional data. The collected data will
be divided into three farmer's group according to farm size; large,
medium and small farmer. Information on socio-economic characteristics
of those dairy farmers, agricultural land distribution, dairy animal
holdings, income from dairy production were compiled and analyzed according to three farmers groups by using statistical tools; Excel and
SPSS. Information on income and percentage share from different economic
activities other than dairy production were also analysed to evaluate
their significancy to the total household economy.
Dairy Farming in Nepal
Dairy animals that include cow and buffalo evenly distributed
throughout the country, with some predominance of cow on the Tarai and
lower hills. About 75% of Nepalese household keep cow and 47.8% keep
buffalo mainly for milk, draught power and manure for their farmland.
There is about 7.0 million heads cow with the annual increment of 0.05%
and 3.4 million heads of buffalo, growing at a rate of about 1.6 % per
annum in the year 2001 (Table 1). The raising of buffalo occurs mainly
in the Hills (56.7%) and the Tarai (34%). Share of both cow and buffalo
is comparatively higher in the hills followed by the Tarai and the
mountain.
Cow and buffalo are the main grazing dairy animals for a farm
household in the Tarai region. The main cow breeds found in the region
are Bos taurus Jersey, Holstein, Bos indieus Haryana and Sahiwal.
Buffalo breeds are crossbred Murrah from India as a result of direct
importation from India. It is also supported by the upgrading programme
implemented by the Department of Agriculture Development (DAD) using
both natural services and artificial insemination. Murrah crossbred are
more common in the mid-hills and the Tarai particularly where access to
milk market is good. Dairy animals are reared in the region mostly to
get manure for their farmland and the draught power used in cultivation.
Female calves are reared as herd replacements while male calves are
either reared for replacement of draught oxen for ploughing and for
pulling carts, or they are neglected, killed, or sold to buyers from
India and local people. Buffalo is also used for ploughing in the Tarai
region. Female buffalo calves receive more care than males due to the
milk. Male buffalo calves are neglected and die, or are weaned, very
early and slaughtered for meat or sold to buyers from India and the
local market. Buffalo milk, which contains high amount of milk fats, is
preferred by both producers and consumers over cow milk. This results in
the lactating buffaloes in the farm household herd being fed better than
the lactating cows. Buffalo milk is a more valuable product than cow
milk and so lactating buffalo are the first animal to be stall fed when
grazing is insufficient. As a result of having less grazing land and
forest, more crop residues (paddy, wheat, maize, cotton, sugar cane tops, lentils) are fed. It is generally supplemented with some
concentrates. Concentrate feeding, locally known as 'kundo'
(3) is given to the lactating animals, which is common to most farmers
in Nepal. The amount of stall feeding relative to grazing is more in the
Tarai than the mid-hills. The forage utilized in the region generally
includes; grazing on roadsides, uncultivated land, forest (near the
Siwalik), on cultivated land after harvest, and on fallow land.
Milk production varies according to geographical region. Table 2
shows the number of milking animal and milk production according to
region, which is less in the Tarai compared to the hill, however, the
milk yield is highest in the Tarai among the other regions. The milk
yield of cow and buffalo is 450 kg and 962 kg per year respectively,
which is the highest milk yield in the region compared to the hill and
mountain. Cow milk contributes only about 32% of the total milk
production with average milk yield of 401 kg per year. A large share of
milk production is produced by buffalo, which contributes 68% in total
milk production having milk yield of 834 kg per year.
Dairy animals are kept mainly for milk. milk product e.g. ghee,
manure (fertilizer and fuel), meat and hides. They are also used for
ploughing and pulling carts in Tarai region. In Tarai cow is more
important than buffalo for draught as in the mid-hills. Both buffalo and
cow are used for threshing by trampling, although beating paddy sheaves by hand is more common in Tarai. Milk produced by buffalo and cow is
sold to Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) collection centres, private
urban buyers and private dairy farm. Ghee, a milk product, is sold
mostly to India. Buffaloes are sold for slaughter in the district urban
centres and Kathmandu. Male buffalo and male cow for draught purposes
are sold in the locality where they are raised. Late pregnancy or early
calving female buffaloes have wider market in the region.
Chronological Development and Present Situation of Dairy Farming in
Nepal
In Nepal, dairy development activities began in 1952 with the
establishment of a small-scale milk processing plant on an experimental
basis in Tusal, a village in the Kavreplanchok district, under the
Department of Agriculture (DoA). After that few yak cheese factories
were started with an assistance of Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) of the United Nations in 1952/53. With the growing prospect of
expanding the dairy sector, the First Five-Year Plan (1952-57)
emphasized the need for developing a modern dairy industry. It had
programmes to establish milk collecting centres and central milk
processing plant in Kathmandu valley, cheese making plants, using yak
milk, in high hills and ghee purification centre at the exporting points
in the Tarai. In order to streamline the dairy development activities,
Dairy Development Commission was formed in 1955, and it was then
converted into the Dairy Development Board in 1962. In accordance with
the Corporation Act of 1964, the board was again converted into the
Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) in 1969 in order to meet the growing
milk demand in the Kathmandu valley. The main objectives of DDC are to
provide guaranteed market, fair price to the rural milk producers,
supply pasteurized milk and other standard dairy products to the urban
consumers. When DDC started its operation it had only Kathmandu Milk
Supply Scheme (KMSS) and one Cheese Production and Supply Scheme with
four Cheese Production Centres. Over the years, DDC gradually extended
its activity area outside Kathmandu Valley, and established various milk
supply schemes in different parts of the country to meet the growing
demand for processed milk and milk products. There are six milk supply
schemes and one Milk Production and Distribution Scheme shown in Table
3.
There is a mini processing plant recently established under the
LMSS. Thus, the scheme has just started selling pasteurized milk in the
local market. Since the sales volume is small, the scheme is
transshipping raw milk to KMSS and PMSS to supply in those areas. Madhay
Paschimanchal Supply Scheme (MPSS) has recently been established in
order to supply pasteurized milk in the local area. Since MPSS has not
yet established milk-processing plant (under way), it also has been
transshipping raw milk to KMSS. Hetauda Milk Supply Scheme supports KMSS
by supplying excess milk that is above their local requirement, where as
BMSS manufactures skimmed milk powder from its excess milk and that of
other milk supply schemes as well.
Dairy Development Corporation collects cow, buffalo and Yak/chauri
milk from different districts. Milk is collected through the farmer
owned organizations such as Milk Producer's Associations (MPAs) and
Milk Producer's Cooperative Societies (MPCS). The present milk
collection network of DDC has spread from Panchthar in the East to
Surkhet in the west. The collection network under different Milk Supply
Schemes is presented in Annex A. All these schemes have a responsibility
of collection of milk and processing of milk products. At present, the
DDC has a milk collection network in 39 districts throughout the
country. Figure 1 and Figure 2 shows the annual milk collection and
production of the DDC from 1996 to 2001.
[FIGURES 1-2 OMITTED]
Although this sector was given due priority in the previous seven
periodic Five-Year Plans, it could not achieve much success as targeted.
Consequently, it has not been possible to maintain an adequate supply of
necessary milk and milk products for the growing population. Figure 3
shows the trend of dairy animal population and milk production from
respective animals during 1988 to 2001 in Nepal. The cow population has
increased continuously during the year 1992/93 to 1995/96. The Eight
Five-Year Plans encouraged the participation of private sector to
establish animal hospitals. It also launched various programmes such as
introduction of improved breed, vaccine programmes in order to maintain
animal health and animal feed programme. The eight, plans, however,
could not achieve its targets in livestock sector. The number of
livestock units was increased but the milk production has not
significantly changed. The high numbers of animals were found to be
unproductive and low productivity of productive animals. The number of
buffalo is low compared to cattle but the milk production is higher than
that of cattle. However, the over all milk production has not increased
significantly in both the case cattle and buffalo during these years.
[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]
General Features of Chitwan District
Chitwan district lies in the Tarai (Plain) region, which is often
called "Grain Basket" as it has more capacity to grow crops
and other farming products. The district is agriculturally significant
as it is endowed with very fertile alluvial soil from the Rapti River.
The district is one of the biggest districts in the Central Inner Tarai
(4), which is an important part of the country both from the settlement
and economic point of view. The economy of the district mostly depends
upon the agriculture, and about 73% of the workforces derive their
income from this activity.
The district is located 146 kilometers south of Kathmandu, the
capital of Nepal, covering an area of 2218 sq. km in the central
development region. The district elevation ranges from about 200 meters
in the south to 2000 meters in the north. The average temperature of
this district ranges from 18 degrees Celsius to 31 degree Celsius.
According to the record prepared by Rampur Station in 1994 the minimum
temperature of the district recorded is 2 degree Celsius in December and
maximum temperature recorded is 38.2 degree Celsius in May. The average
annual rainfall is 2,133 milliliters. The climatic condition of the
district is subtropical and temperate type depending upon the topography of the district.
From geographical point of view, the district consists of three
major topographic divisions; Mahabharat Hills in the north, Siwalik
Hills in the south and inner Tarai region in the centre and the west.
The northern mountainous parts of the district, about 2000m in height
are inaccessible due to the steep elevation and dense forest. The
southern part of the district is in the foothills of Siwalik (600 m),
bordering India. The central and southern part of the district is the
basin along the Rapti River known as Chitwan valley. Between the plains
and Siwalik lies the dense subtropical forest, rich with flora and
fauna. Administratively, the district is divided into 36 VDCs and two
municipalities (Ratnanagar and Bharatpur). Bharatpur, headquarter of
district, located in the Central Western part of the district.
Before 1950, Chitwan district was covered with dense subtropical
forest prone to Malaria and was known as Kalapani i. e. the Death
Valley. During the Rana period (1855-1951), when the Rana government had
to punish an individual, they would send him/her to the Death Valley.
This implies that when a person enters the Chitwan district he/she would
surely not return. The rulers also used this area for hunting tigers,
and other wild animals, often as a state event with foreign dignitaries.
At that time people did not like to go there for settlement. However,
after launching of simultaneous programme of planned settlement and
malaria eradication in late 1950s, people started going there for
settlement. To encourage the Pahadis (hilly people) to permanently
settle in Chitwan, government offered land and free tractor service
as incentives. Chitwan then became an attractive place for the
pahadis. Gradually people from all over the country composing of
different ethnic groups, culture and religions started migrating to the
district. Not only over all the country but also from the neighboring country especially India started migrating to the district because of no
restrictions whatsoever in crossing the inter-national boundary between
India and Nepal. During the harvest season, many Indian labours would
come to work and finally settled in the district in most cases. However,
still some forests are secured along Char koshe Jhadi (8-mile long dense
subtropical forest between the plains and Siwalik Hills) and most of the
Chitwan National Park.
Due to the high influence of migration, the population of the
district increased sharply after 1950s. Table 4 shows the number of
population and population growth within the given time. The maximum
percentage of growth is after eradication of malaria in 1954, 250%
during 1954-1961. Then after the percentage growth during each decade
has decreased gradually compared to 1950s. However, the average growth
rate is about 3.5% annually in each decade, greater than the regional
average growth of 2.9% and national average growth of 2.7%.
Compared to other parts of the Tarai region, Chitwan District is
relatively more accessible. Markets, hospitals, and educational centres
are within accessible distance and the transportation facilities are
easily available. It has two airports and two highways connected to the
district with all other districts of the Tarai and some districts of the
central and western Hills. The Institute of Agriculture and Animal
Science at Rampur plays a key role in development of dairy farming in
the district. Other institutions such as horticulture farm, cooperative,
division of women development and financial institutions directly
related to agricultural development in the district.
The total arable land area of Chitwan district is 46,894 ha, of
which 44,391 ha of land are cultivated. There are 142,422 ha of
forestland, 18,882 ha of pastureland, and 13,602 ha of land are covered
by rivers, mountains and so on. Among cultivated land only 28% is
irrigated throughout the year while rest of the cultivated land is
irrigated only partially. Since the district has more capacity to grow
crops, it exports food grains to India and other parts of Nepal. Table 5
shows the cultivated area, production, and yield of major crops in
Chitwan comparing to the country as a whole.
This data shows the yield per hectare of oilseed, maize and potato
is higher in the district than the national yield. The yield of major
cereal crops such as paddy, wheat, and barley are not significantly
different with national yield. The soil in the other hand is also
equally favorable for agricultural products. The major crops grown in
the district are paddy, maize, oilseed, potato and wheat. Besides,
millet, barley and sugarcane are also grown. The trend of major cereal
crop cultivated area and respective crop yield of the district is shown
in the Figure 4 and 5.
[FIGURES 4-5 OMITTED]
In the district level, area under paddy is almost similar in
different years where as area under wheat and maize has been slightly
increasing. This is due to the construction of irrigation channel in the
Chitwan district in the latter period. In the other hand, yields of
three crops have been increasing but in slow rate. Among three crops,
yield of paddy shows higher growth trend. In the year 1985 to 1992 maize
yield is decreasing and after that period yield is slightly increasing.
In case of cash crops, area under potato is almost constant over 25
years where as under mustard has increased until year 1984/85 and
slightly up and down after that period. After construction of irrigation
channels in the district potato yield has increased rapidly but yield of
mustard is very low as compared to potato. This is due to the severe
pest problem in this crop. In the later stage potato yield has been
decreasing because of late blight (potato disease).
The farming system is traditional and based on human labour and
animal power, and depends mostly upon the rain for irrigation. Since the
landholding is small, mechanized farming is not favorable. Farmers in
the district mainly use compost manure i.e. mostly animal dung. This
encourages them to raise dairy animals, which is the main source of
manure. Livestock farming is also an important component of farming
system in the district. Cattle, buffaloes and goats are the major
livestock and they are raised mainly for milk, meat and draft-power
(transportation and land preparation). One pair of oxen can earn NRs.
210 per day for ploughing a field. Renting oxen for ploughing and
pulling carts to transport farm goods is also an income-generating
source in the district.
General Features of Study Area
As mentioned earlier, two Village Development Committees (VDCs)
(dairy pocket area), with about similar characteristics were chosen for
the study. As can be seen in Figure 6, the two VDCs (Gitanagar and
Gunjnagar) are located in the central part of the Chitwan district. Both
the villages are located in the southwest of Bharatpur Municipality,
where Gitanagar is adjoining it. Gitanagar is surrounded with dense
forest in the East, Pathani VDC in the south, Shivnagar and Phulbari
VDCs in the west. The total area of the VDC is 16 sq. km. Gunjnagar
another study village is also located in the southwest of Bharatpur
Municipality. It is about 162 km southwest from Kathmandu and 16 km from
Bharatpur. It covers the area of 16 sq. km. Gunjnagar is delineated by
Dibyanagar VDC in the west, Nawalparasi district in the North,
Saradanagar VDC in the east and Sukranagar VDC in the south. Both the
villages are located in the plain area in the average altitude of 200m.
It can be considered as strong and developed VDCs based on various
attributes such as presence of numbers of institutions (banks, NGOs,
cooperatives facilities) and other infrastructure (communication,
transportation) health facility, electricity more than 80% and more than
50% of the total population has food self-sufficiency. Both the VDCs
have milk potentiality for income generation. If the area is addressed
and strengthened in terms of milk production with modern inputs, it will
be accelerated towards the economic growth and milk production will be
sustainable.
[FIGURE 6 OMITTED]
According to the preliminary census 2001, the total population of
Gitanagar is 10,244 living under 2,012 households making an average
household size 5.1. This includes 4.905 males and 5,339 females. The
male to female sex ratio is 0.91, which is slightly less than national
average of 0.99. The total population in Gunjnagar is 12,868 living
under 2,499 households with family size 5.1. The male to female sex
ratio is 0.93.
Table 6 shows the population distribution according to the farm
size and sex of the sampled household among the dairy farmers in the
study area (Gitanagar & Gunjanagar). The total population of sampled
household is 650 living under 104 households. The majority of sampled
household belongs to medium size, holding less than two hectare of land.
The average household size is 6 with male and female population is
approximately equally distributed.
Socio-economic Characteristics of Dairy Farmers
Caste/Ethnicity: The study villages are composed of various
caste/ethnic groups, including Brahmin, Chhetri, Tamang, Magar and other
occupational caste groups such as Damai, Kami. However, the dairy
farmers in the study area are highly dominated by Brahmins. The Brahmins
(priest caste) are the highest caste in the caste hierarchy in Nepal. It
comprises 89% of the total sampled household. The Chhetri are occupying
4% of the sampled households. Others include Magar, Tamang, Newar and
occupational caste are very low as shown in Table 7. Caste/ethnicity is
the most important issue for most of the development programmes in
Nepal. However, this study does not concern with the caste/ethnicity as
sampled household dominated by Brahmins. Thus, castes/ethnicity will not
be considered in the study. All the analysis was done according to their
farm size. Farmers are divided into three farmer groups according to
their farm size.
Education Status: Education is one of the important human capitals,
which plays important role in determining household status in the
society. In the research area, there are ten primary, five secondary and
four higher secondary schools in the various ward. Most of the schools
are privately funded. With the presence of number of educational
institution, the literacy rate is as high as 88.5% among the sampled
household members including those who are just literate with no
schooling. The large percentage of the sampled household members has
education in the range of primary to intermediate level. The highest
percentage of graduate people belongs to large farmer (13%). This
implies better-educated people are generally not involving in dairy
farming due to the fact that better education provides more
opportunities for the services in different sectors. However, the
average education status is not significantly different among the three
groups.
Occupational Structure: The nature of local economies and various
commercial and employment opportunities are reflected in the
people's occupation. In terms of occupational structure the study
area is very agrarian in nature with more than 90% of people engaged in
farming as a main job. Nevertheless, the study area has a more developed
economy, which can be attributed to its location along the trade route
to various market places within and outside the district. Table 9 shows
different trends in the diversity of income sources among small, medium
and large farmers. All the three groups of farmers have approximately
similar range of income sources (4 economic activities) for income
generation. The most important occupation is farming that includes crop
and livestock production. It provides income to about 77.3% of them,
which is far greater figure than the second largest clerical .job
(13.1%), professional (7.1%), and business (2.5%). The given economic
activities are the main livelihood strategies of the sampled household
that represent the whole district. If we see the occupational structure
according to farm size, all the large farmers engaging in/'arming
including dairy as they endowed higher proportion of land with annual
food self-sufficiency and also surplus. As the small and medium farmer,
having small proportion of land, though they have annual food
self-sufficiency, they have to depend on other activities to manage
other non-food items. However, the majority of households has farm-based
activities; crop and dairy farming as their main occupation for living.
Landholding: Land ownership within the agrarian economy of the
study area provides a major source of income, which is an important
natural asset that farmers have. The inequity in land distribution
translates to economic disparity among the farmers. The land size of the
holding and type of land available in the study area can have a large
impact on the ability of farmers to earn a living. Table 10 shows the
land distribution of the sampled household according to land type and
farm size. It shows the average land holding of small, medium and large
farmers is 0.3, 1.0 and 2.4 Ha respectively. The large farmers are
endowed with higher natural asset status than medium and small farmers.
The land in the study area is categorized in two types Ghol and Tandi as
district as a whole. Paddy is the main crop cultivated in the Ghol or it
can also understand as paddy land. Mainly maize and mustard are grown in
Tandi. It can be seen that average Ghol (paddy irrigated land) owned by
large farmers (1 Ha.) is almost twice as large as that of medium farmers
and 4 times larger than that of small farmers. Larger size of Ghol owned
by large farmer means that they have higher potential to grow crops such
as modern variety rice and other crops. It is considered that they have
utilized this in higher potential for commercial crop farming, it can
also be proved from the income earning from various sources (section
8.3), in which the maximum income comes from crop farming in case of
large farmers. It seems they nave higher tendency in engaging in crop
farming.
Tandi, a terrace land, homestead, forestland and fodder are not
significantly difference among the small, medium and large farmer. Tandi
is a dry field, which usually does not have irrigation facility and is
used for the cultivation of maize, millet and wheat. Other land is not
suitable for cultivation but can produce fodder, grasses and trees.
Livestock Holding: Livestock ownership is one of the other major
financial assets that people have. The production of manure through
livestock is a major contributor to traditional soil management
practices. And dairy provides an important source of income. The main
animals rearing in the study area are cow, buffalo, goat, ox and
chicken. Table 11 shows the ownership of dairy, animals and its
composition in the study area. The average number of dairy cow and
buffalo in small, medium and large farmer is 4, 5 and 6 respectively.
The highest number of average dairy animals is owned by large farmers.
It implies that the large farmers have more potential to produce dairy
products for their own consumption and for the sale. When checked with
the income from dairy, it is interesting to note that it is one of the
minimum compared to small and medium farmers. This shows dairy farming
for large farmer may be mainly for self-consumption and for the farmyard
manure to maintain the soil productivity, which tends to be more easily
degraded by pest, disease and nutrition deprivation. Another farmer
groups owned less numbers of dairy animals compared to that of large
farmers. Similarly, number of milking cow holding per household in
small, medium and large farmers is 1.1, 1.2 and 0.9 respectively and
that of buffalo holding is less than one in all the cases.
Survey Results and Discussion
Dairy Animal Production Cost: In this study different variable
costs (5) were calculated for the net household income from dairy
farming. The variable costs for individual households in dairy
production were computed by summing the expenditures on self and
purchased feed, dairy animal health, electricity and cost for labour,
which were reported by farmers. The average purchased feed value is very
high due to the high market price of ready made teed produced by
industry. The labour used in dairy production was household labour and
household labour productivity is very low. This is due to the lack of
labour market in the study area. The household labour value was
evaluated based on the value of agricultural labour found in
agricultural labour market. One man-day value varies for man, woman, and
child in the study area. One man-day labour cost for man, woman and
child is NRs 100, 80 and 50 respectively.
Table 12 shows the types of variable costs included and respective
average cost. The findings show that the mean value for self-feed is one
of the lowest in small and medium farmer. These two groups of farmer
used more than doubled amount of purchased feed compared to self-feed.
While large farmers used approximately equal amount for self and
purchased feed. This coincides with the low landholding status of small
farmers than large farmer. Mean value for electricity used and health is
very minimal in all the cases. The total production cost is not
significantly different in small and medium farmer with NRs 56,213 and
NRs. 59,899 respectively, whereas the production cost i.e. NRs 45,581 of
large farmers is minimal. In the same table it can be seen that large
farmer uses less amount of intensive and less amount of labour compared
to other two groups of farmer. It may be due to the composition of
animals, in which large farmers own less number of milking animals.
Generally milking animal needs more care and quality feed.
Labour Utilization: Availability of labour in the household is
another important human asset and one of the important inputs in dairy
enterprises. Both quantity and quality of labour are important human
assets. The knowledge of dairy animal management and the requisite
skills needed in dairy farming determine the quality of labour, and
input to enhance the productivity of dairy animal. But in a low
productivity framework, non-professionals do the work maintaining and
rearing of dairy animals, as their opportunity cost is lower. The dairy
enterprise provides a gainful employment to the rural households. The
number of household members available in dairy farming is an important
factor for adopting labour-intensive livelihood strategies. Table 13
shows the annual labour use in various dairy activities per household.
In the study area almost labour all found is family labour among the all
three groups of farmers. The average number of days spent for dairy
activities per year is calculated according to farm size. It shows that
the average number of days, which were spent by small and medium farmer,
is 310 and 332 respectively, higher than large farmers, which is 306
days per year. But in average, number of animal holding, is less in
small and medium farmers. This implies small and medium farmers have
higher tendency in involving in dairy activities.
Income Earning from Dairy Farming: Milk selling is the major income
source for dairy farmers. Besides, selling of other items such as
selling of animal itself in different stages; milking, heifer, calf and
so on and selling of few dairy products also found in the study area.
Table 14 shows the highest income earning comes from selling of
milk in all three groups of farmers. The gross income is about 1.5 times
higher in small and medium than large farmers though large farmers owned
higher mean animal. This means there is higher tendency of small and
medium farmers in involving in dairy farming for income generation.
Whereas in case of large farmer they have more tendency in involving in
dairy is for self-consumption as their consumption pattern is higher
than small and medium farmers. According to the large farmers, the main
purpose of rearing dairy animals is to get manure for their farmland and
for self-milk consumption rather than selling. They used to sell surplus
milk occasionally.
Milk Production and Consumption Pattern: Milk production is the
major income generating source of the dairy farmers in the study area.
Fresh milk consumption among household is common in the study area as
other parts of the country. Majority of sampled household member drink
milk regularly. Children and old family member has given priority in
drinking milk. The use of milk for tea is common practice in the study
area.
Table 15 shows the annual milk production and consumption per
household according to farm size. The average amount of milk production
among the small and medium farmer is more than double that of large
farmer. Similarly small and medium farmer sell more than 80% of total
milk production while large farmer sell only 58% of total milk
production per household. This implies small and medium farmers have
high tendency to earn income from selling milk. Milk consumption is
higher 42% among the large farmer where as small and medium farmer
consume only 16% and 20% respectively from their total milk production.
The consumption pattern among larger farmer is higher. However, per
capita milk consumption is one of the lowest among the large farmer with
the maximum family size compare to other two farmer's group. Since
the study area is dairy pocket area, the overall per capita milk
consumption is much higher than that of national average.
Annual Income from Different Occupations: Household level income
information on income from different occupation is important for policy
analysis and improvement of people's livelihood. Although
agriculture is the mainstay of the village economy, some people have
shifted to trading and government/private services as their main
occupation to maintain livelihood. During the off-farm season, people
migrate to towns and market centre in the same district such as
Narayanghat, Bharatpur Bazar and so on for income. The main income
generating activities found in the study area can be characterized in
two sectors; farming and non-farming. Farming includes crop farming,
livestock farming and other farm related activities. Non-farming
includes clerical job, business and professional job. The percentage of
engaging in farming is as higher as 77% of the total economically active
sampled population. It is followed by clerical job (13%), (7%)
professional and 3% business.
Table 16 shows the mean income earned from dairy production is one
of the lowest in large farmers, i. e. NRs. 38,722 though they own higher
number of dairy animal compared to medium and small farmer. While nearly
double and two-third income from the same source was earned by medium
and small farmers respectively. One reason for this difference can be
landholding size. Some of large farmers also reported that they did not
have to be fully engaged in commercial-scale dairy farming because they
obtained a sufficient amount of income from crop farming as well as
non-farm based activities. They are rearing dairy animal for the reason
of self-consumption of milk and manure for their farmland. The same
Table shows income earning of large farmer from crop farming and
clerical job is one of the highest compared to other two groups about i.
e. NRs. 63,000 and NRs. 96,000 thousand respectively. Medium and small
farmer earned very less income from non-farm based activities, as their
education level is also lower than that of large farmers.
Share of Different Household Occupation in Total Household Income
In order to calculate the contribution of income from dairy farming
to the total household income, it is important to know the share of
other income sources as well. The percentage share of income from
different income sources is presented in Figure 7. It shows the
percentage share of dairy farming is decreasing according to the farm
size of the sampled household. Small farmers have maximum share of dairy
income in their total household income. It is followed by medium and
large farmers. The share of dairy income is found to be significant in
small and medium farmer, which contributes 52% and 45% in small and
medium farmers respectively to their total household income. The rest of
the share come from crop farming and non-farm activities. The share of
income from clerical .job is higher in the case of large farmer compared
to small and medium farmers. It may be because of their higher education level compared to other farmer groups, which provides them better
opportunities in non-farm activity' like clerical job. There is
also little contribution to their total household income from non-farm
based activities such as clerical job and professional job in case of
small and medium farmers. These are, however, mostly come from jobs
abroad.
[FIGURE 7 OMITTED]
Conclusion
Nepal is an agrarian country and its economy strongly depends on
agriculture and related activities. The livelihood of large proportion
of people depends on this business. High population growth causes
declines in size of farmland that is leading to the decreasing trend of
productivity of food grains. Dairy farming is regarded as an important
income generating activity for the rural people where livestock is
integral part of farming system and majority of people is living in
subsistence level. Dairy farming is such an activity, which does not
require large resources, labour intensive and can generate income within
short period of time.
In this case study, the economy of households in the study area
depends upon the agriculture and related business. Most of the farm
households in the study area have small size of land holdings so this
has direct impact on crop yields. Besides this, people are also engaging
other different economic activities, which includes non-farm based, such
as business, professional job and clerical job. The most viable business
that is closely related to agriculture in the study area is dairy
farming. Most of the farmers are keeping cows and buffaloes for milk as
well as organic manure for crop cultivation in their own farmland. The
finding shows that the contribution of the dairy farming to the total
household income is found to be significant in household level. This
contribution is higher in small farmers and medium farmers as compared
to large farmers ,because large farmers have other economic
opportunities as compared to small farmers. Dairy farming is consuming
household labour more efficiently as almost all labour use in the dairy
is family labour. This indicates that dairy sector development has
direct impact on the contribution of household income in rural areas.
The demand of livestock products like milk and milk product is
increasing day by day as population increasing. Therefore, this sector
can contribute for the betterment of the rural livelihood particularly
to the small household, which has less opportunity to engage in other
economic alternatives. Development of livestock sector such as provision
of extension services; introduction of improved breed, good animal
health service, and provision of cheap feed to the farmers, can enhance
dairy production in the rural area.
Annex A: Milk Collection Network under
Different Milk Supply Schemes in Nepal
Scheme MPAs MPCS CC District Covered
KMSS 53 416 14 9
BMSS 4 126 9 7
HMSS -- 200 S 5
PMSS 16 93 6 7
LMSS 1 42 3 5
MPMSS -- 33 3 3
MP & DS -- 21 -- 7
Total 74 931 43 43
Source: DDC, 2003
Note:
MPAs: Milk Producer's Association
MPCs: Milk Producer's Cooperatives
CC: Milk Collection Centre
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(1980-1985). Kathmandu: NPC, Nepal.
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Notes
(1.) Geographically, Nepal is divided into three regions, Mountain,
Hill and Tarai. The Tarai, being an extension of the Gangetic plains of
India, forms a low flat land, ranging from 22m to 600m above, mean sea
level. It stretches along the southern boundary of the country. It
comprises only 23 % of the total land of the country and accommodates
47% of population. This region includes most of the fertile land and
dense forest. About 40% of land is suitable for cultivation.
(2.) Traditional energy refers to fuelwood, agricultural residue and animal dung. Commercial energy refers to electricity, petroleum
products, gasoline and so on. For further details see (Singh and
Maharajan, 2003).
(3.) It is made at home, predominately from maize flour, rice bran,
salt and kitchen waste in about 2-3 liters of water and boiled. The
amount per day varies from 0.5-1 kg/day/animal given during or after
milking).
(4.) Tarai region in Nepal is divided into two parts Inner Tarai
and Outer Tarai. Inner Tarai is the river valley between Mahabharat
Hills (Southern Hill-2000m) and Siwalik Hills (Tarai Hills-600m). Inner
Tarai is also divided into three regions. Eastern Inner Tarai which
includes Udaypur and Sindhuli Districts, Central Inner Tarai, which
includes Chitwan and Makawanpur District and the western Inner Tarai
that includes Dang Duekhuri districts.
(5.) Fixed cost such as depreciation cost for animal, animal shed
and equipment used were excluded in the study. It is difficult to
evaluate animal depreciation cost due to the various matters such as
animal type, size, age and calving stage. In the case of animal shed and
equipment, it is also difficult to evaluate the depreciation cost.
Because majority of farmers are using same animal shed for dairy animals
and other small animals and using same equipment for dairy as well as
crop farming.
Table 1: Number of Cattles in Nepal according to Geographical Regions
Region Animals Average Growth Rate Share in
Animal Total (%)
Mountain Cow 819,243 -0.43 11.66
Buffalo 313,500 1.17 9.18
Hill Cow 3,447,598 0.12 49.06
Buffalo 1,939,134 1.17 56.77
Tarai Cow 2,760,302 0.11 39.28
Buffalo 1,163,435 2.56 34.06
Nepal Cow 7,027,143 0.05 100.00
Buffalo 3,416,069 1.64 100.00
Source: CBS, 2001.
Table 2: Milk Production and Yield according to Geographical Region
Region Livestock Total Milking Milk Milk Yield
Population Animal Production (Kg/Year)
(in MT)
Mountain Cow 819,243 104,533 33,882 324
Buffalo 313,500 81,802 57,632 705
Hill Cow 3,447,598 459,703 178,907 389
Buffalo 1,939,134 567,007 446,660 787
Tarai Cow 2,760,302 288,347 129,949 450
Buffalo 1,163,435 288,002 277,102 962
Nepal Cow 7,027,143 852,583 342,738 401
Buffalo 3,416,069 936,811 781,394 834
Source: APSD, 2001
Table 3: Different Milk Supply Schemes Established by DDC
Milk Supply Scheme District Date of Production
Establishment Capacity
(Per Shift)
Kathmandu Milk Supply Kathmandu 1978 75,000 ltrs.
Scheme (KMSS)
Biratnagar Milk Supply Morang 1973 25,000 ltrs. & 3
Scheme (BMSS) metric ton
powder milk from
40,000 ltrs. of
milk per day
Hetauda Milk Supply Makawanpur 1974 15,000 ltrs.
Scheme (HMSS)
Pokhara Milk Supply Kaski 1980 10,000 ltrs.
Scheme (PMSS)
Lumbini Milk Supply Rupandehi -- 2,500 ltrs.
Scheme (LMSS)
Madhay Paschimanchal Banke -- --
Milk Supply Scheme
(MPMSS)
Source: DDC, 2003
Table 4: Population and Percentage Growth in Chitwan District
Year Total Population Total Percentage Population Growth
1954 42,822 -- --
1961 107,394 1954-1961 250
1971 183,644 1961-1971 171
1981 259,571 1971-1981 141
1991 354,488 1981-1991 137
2001 470,713 1991-2001 132
Source: Based on Pradhan & Routray, 1992
Table 5: Cultivated Area, Production and Yield of
different Crops in Chitwan District for 1999/2000.
Nepal
Crops Cultivated Production Yield
Area (ha) (Ton) Ton/ha.
Paddy 1,550,990 4,030,100 2.60
Maize 819,010 1,414,850 1.73
Wheat 660,040 1,183,530 1.79
Millet 263,450 295,380 1.12
Barley 28,196 30,817 1.09
Potato 122,619 1,182,500 9.64
Oilseeds 189,628 122,751 0.65
Sugarcane 58,126 2,103,426 36.19
Chitwan District
Crops Cultivated Production Yield
Area (ha) (Ton) Ton/ha.
Paddy 33,685 92,500 2.75
Maize 28,742 61,083 2.13
Wheat 8,500 13,770 1.62
Millet 1,500 1,375 0.92
Barley 400 360 0.90
Potato 1,600 17,750 11.09
Oilseeds 18,000 70,200 3.90
Sugarcane 10 320 32.00
Source: CBS, 2001
Table 6: Population Distribution of the Sampled Household according to
Farm Size
Farm Size Male Female Total % No of HH Av. HH Size
Small 57 57 114 17.5 22 5
Medium 233 220 453 69.7 74 6
Large 45 38 83 12.8 8 10
Total 335 315 650 100.0 104 6
Table 7: Caste/Ethnic Distribution of the Sampled Household
Caste/ethnicity Small Medium Large Total %
Brahmin 20 67 6 93 89
Chhetri 1 2 1 4 4
Magar 3 3 3
Others 1 2 1 4 4
Total 22 74 8 104 100
Source: Field Visit, 2002
Others: Tamang, Newar, Mahato, Kamali
Table 8: Educational Status of Sampled Household According to Farm
Size
Educational Level & Farm Small Medium Large Total
size
Illiterate (No Schooling) 15 46 9 70
Literate (No Schooling) 8 51 6 65
Primary (1-5) 33 90 19 142
Secondary (6-10) 19 90 12 121
SLC (School Leaving 11 31 10 52
Certificate)
Intermediate (10+2) 16 77 12 105
Graduate 6 35 10 52
Total 108 421 78 607
Literacy Rate (%) 86.1 89.0 88.5 88.5
Source: Field Visit, 2002
Note: Under 6 (43) are not included
Table 9: Occupational Structure of Sampled Household According to
Farm Size
Occupation Category Small Medium Large Total %
Farming 44 168 31 243 77.3
Business 1 7 8 2.5
Clerical Job 10 24 7 41 13.1
Professional Job 2 18 2 22 7.1
Total 57 217 40 314 100.0
Source: Field Survey, 2002
Note: Above 65 (14), under 6 (43), Student (279) is not included
Clerical Job: Government/non government service, Officer
Farming: Crop & livestock, Business: Shopkeeper, Trade; Clerical
Job: Service, Officer, computer operator
Professional: Teacher, Politician, Writer, Driver, Nurse, Police,
Army, and Overseer
Small: 0.2 to under 0.5 ha; Medium: 0.5 and under 2 ha; Large: 2
ha and above
Table 10: Land Distribution among Sampled Household by Farm Size
and Land Type
Total Land Total Land
Land Type Farm Size HH Holding Holding/HH
Ghol (Paddy Irrigated Small 22 4.2 0.19
Land) Medium 74 44.8 0.61
Large 8 8.33 1.04
Ghol (Paddy Non-irrigated Small 22 1.07 0.05
Land) Medium 74 15.75 0.21
Large 8 7.79 0.97
Tandi (Terrace Irrigated Small 22 0.51 0.02
Land) Medium 74 1.66 0.02
Large 8 0 0.00
Tandi (Terrace Non- Small 22 0.64 0.03
irrigated Land) Medium 74 6.72 0.09
Large 8 2.34 0.29
Homestead, Animal Shed Small 22 1.13 0.05
and Other Land Medium 74 4.72 0.06
Large 8 1.1 0.14
Total Land Small 22 7.55 0.34
Medium 74 73.65 1.00
Large 8 19.56 2.45
Source: Field Survey, 2002
Small: having 0.2 & under 0.5 ha
land, medium: 0.5 & under 2 ha land,
Large: above 2 ha land
Note: Land Unit in Ha, Others include few
cases of holding of fodder/forest land.
Table 11: Dairy Animal Holding of Sampled Household
Description Small (22) Medium (74) Large (8) Total
Milking Cow 25 92 7 124
Dry Cow 9 28 4 41
Heifer 6 42 2 50
Female Calf 10 29 3 42
Male Calf 3 14 2 19
Bull 5 37 4 46
Milking Buffalo 14 46 4 64
Dry Buffalo 1 16 10 27
Heifer 7 26 6 39
Female Calf 2 17 2 21
Male Calf 4 14 7 25
Total Animals 86 361 51 498
Holding/HH 4 5 6 5
Milking Cow Holding/HH 1.1 1.2 0.9 1.2
Milking Buffalo Holding/HH 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.6
Source: Field Survey, 2002
Small: having 0.2 & under 0.5 ha
land, medium: 0.5 & under 2 ha land,
Large: above 2 ha land
Milking animal: cow, producing milk
Dry animal: a cow usually in the latest part of pregnancy, whose
lactation has been terminated and who is being prepared for the
next lactation, or stop milking
Heifer: young female bovine from birth up to the time she gives
to a calf Calf young male or female animal
Bull: adult male animal
Table 12: Annual Dairy Production Cost in US$ per Household by Farm
Size
Description Small Medium Large
Self Feed (Concentrate/maize/oil cake) 123 655 2,100
Self Feed (Fodder/grass/straw) 741 1,682 3,480
Purchased Feed Concentrate/maize/oil 22,395 22,884 10,463
cake)
Purchased Feed (Fodder/grass/straw) 3,691 2,869
Total Feed Cost 26,950 28,090 16,043
Health Cost 1,476 1,496 2,120
Electricity Cost 39 61 100
Labour Cost (Estimated) 27,748 30,252 27,318
Total Dairy Production Cost 56,213 59,899 45,581
Source: Field Survey, 2002, Unit: Nepali Rupees (NRs.), $1 = NRs. 77.00
Table 13: Annual Labour (AEU) Utilization in Dairy Activities per
Household
Activities Small
Male Female Total
Fodder Collection 32 60 92
Feeding 35 37 73
Cleaning Animal 10 7 17
Cleaning Animal
Shed 17 33 50
Milking 25 16 40
Milk Delivery 28 10 38
Total 147 163 310
Labour use/animal 37 41 78
Activities Medium
Male Female Total
Fodder Collection 39 56 95
Feeding 35 33 68
Cleaning Animal 14 8 22
Cleaning Animal
Shed 22 23 45
Milking 33 24 57
Milk Delivery 37 8 45
Total 180 154 332
Labour use/animal 36 31 66
Activities Large
Male Female Total
Fodder Collection 33 56 89
Feeding 40 48 88
Cleaning Animal 7 10 17
Cleaning Animal
Shed 17 29 46
Milking 26 14 40
Milk Delivery 20 6 26
Total 142 163 306
Labour use/animal 27 30 51
Source: Field Survey, 2002
Small: having 0.2 & under 0.5 ha land, Medium: 0.5 & under 2 ha, Large:
above 2 ha
Unit: Manday = Working an adult 8 hrs/day; AEU=Adult Equivalent Unit. A
working child counted as a half of an adult.
Table 14: Annual Income Earning from Dairy per Household
Description Small Medium Large
Selling Milking Cow 1,681.82 4,756.70
Heifer cow 739.70
Cow Milk 43,363.09 44,980.33 17,793.75
Milking Buffalo 2,122.97
Dry Buffalo 328.18 378.37
Heifer (Buffalo) 216.21
She calf 14.46
He calf 100.00 277.92
Bullock 56.75
Buffalo Milk 19,045.90 20,137.33 20,394.37
Ghee 199.32
Manure 1,909.09 113.51
Manure Self Use 3,415.00 5,177.00 10,581.00
Gross Income 69,843.08 79,170.65 48,769.12
Total Production Cost 56,213.30 59 898.65 45,581.05
Net Income 13,629.78 19,272.00 3,188.07
Net Return to Farm 42,242.08 51,860.65 36,086.07
Source: Field Survey, 2002
Unit Nepali Rupees, $1 - NRs 77.00
Note: Net income = Gross Income-Total Production Cost
Net return to farm = Net Income + Self Inputs (Feed = labour +
manure)
Table 15: Milk Production and Consumption per Household by Farm
Size
Farm Milk Milk Sale (Kg) Milk Per Capita Milk
Size Production Consumption Consumption
(Kg) (Kg) (Kg/head)
Small 3117.5 2609.8 (84%) 507.7 (16%) 101.3
Medium 3145.1 2521.4 (80%) 623.7 (20%) 106.5
Large 1743.8 1004.6 (58%) 739.1 (42%) 76.2
Total 3037.8 2423.4 (80%) 614.4 (20%) 103.1
National Per Capita Milk Consumption (Kg/head) 48.4
Basic Need Level Recommended by WHO (Kg/Head) 57.8
Source: Field Survey, 2002
Table 16: Annual Income from Different Income Sources per Household
HH Farm Based Non-farm Based Total
Farm HH
Size Crop Dairy Business Clerical Professional Income
Job Job
Small 22 9,239 42,242 2,273 23,045 4,364 81,163
(11%) (52%) (3%) (29%) (5%) (100%)
Medium 74 18,578 51,861 4,460 27,216 13,068 115,183
(16%) (45%) (4%) (24%) (11%) (100%)
Large 8 44,499 36,086 80,250 19,500 180,335
(25%) (20%) (44%) (11%) (100%)
No of HH 77% 7% 13% 3% 100%
member
engaging
in
Source: Field Survey, 2002, Unit: Nepali Rupees (NRs.), $1 = NRs. 77.00
Farming: Crop & Livestock;
Business: Shopkeeper, Trade.
Clerical job: Service, Computer Operator, and Meter Reader.
Professional Job: Teacher, Writer, Driver, Nurse, Police,
Army, and Technician.