There exists a huge scope for dairy development in the state of Nagaland, which could provide livelihood opportunities to a large number of people. While infrastructure for milk processing has been established by cooperatives, the real challenge is the genetic improvement of milch cattle population so that the production could be augmented with the rising demand for milk.
Promoting dairying in Nagaland is always a challenging task especially when consumption of milk is not a preferred option for many people in the state. Traditionally, the large populace in the state are inclined towards rearing pigs as pork is a staple diet in the region. Historically farmers in Nagaland were never inclined to rearing cattle for production of milk. Since the last decade, Nepali Khutiwalas (those involved in rearing cattle) have been increasingly involved in milk production and marketing.
The apex body –the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) of the Government of India, which implemented the three phased Operation Flood ((1970-1996) leading to India’s emerging as the World’s biggest milk producer is supporting the dairy development in Nagaland. As a result, milk chilling and pasteurized plants in Dimapur, Kohima and Mokokchung districts have been established and these facilities are catering to sizable urban population with value added milk and milk products.
“Gestation period for piggery is not less than 10 months. During this time, the working capital requirement is high in terms of feed and other costs. In the case of dairying, farmers need two cows, and one can be ‘in-milk’ and the other one is in a ‘dry’ phase. Strategically, when a farmer purchases two cows, he has the scope to get milk at least from one cow immediately,” Dr Simon Ao, till recently the Project Director of Nagaland State Dairy Cooperative Federation (NSDCF), said.
At present, there are 72 Dairy Cooperatives Societies (DCS) in the state. These DCSs belong to three district milk unions – Kohima, Dimapur and Mokokchung. Dairy activities mostly confined to these three districts of Nagaland. Especially in the Kohima and Diampur milk unions, a growing number of individual Naga women or groups are now venturing into the dairy business. The department of animal husbandry of Nagaland has been making attempts to encourage farmers to take up dairying as a livelihood option because of growth prospects.
The infrastructure for the processing milk has been established in the state. In Dimapur, a dairy plant with 20,000 litres milk processing capacity per day is established while Kohima has a processing plant with 2,000 litre per day milk processing capacity. The central government has sanctioned 1000 litre milk processing capacity per day plant at Mokokchung. However, three plants owned by district dairy unions of NSDCF, are currently operating at around 50% to 60% of their capacity at present. The existing infrastructure in Nagaland for more milk procurement and processing is established through dairy cooperatives.
The demand for milk is higher than production in the state. In 2018-19, the per capita availability of milk in Nagaland was only 81 gram per day against the national average of 394 gram per day. The production of milk in the state has stagnated in the last five years which provides a contrasting picture compared to the robust growth of milk production witnessed across the country. In a situation like this, an unorganized milk seller currently supplies milk at door step at Rs 80 per litre, while the cooperatives are selling milk at Rs 50 to 52 a litre. Thus there would be a natural tendency of the farmers to restrict their supply to a cooperative at a lesser price.
According to official data, out of the marketable surplus of 1.14 lakh litre of milk, only around 6000 litres are procured by the NSDCF and the rest of milk is directly sold to consumers daily. Another challenge is to market where unorganized milk suppliers sell milk Rs 80 a litre at present. NSDCF sells pouched milk at Rs 50 – 52 per litre. “It means people have the desire to purchase at higher prices. But this needs perceptual transformation in the minds of consumers about the benefits of pasteurized milk and milk products,” said an official with the district dairy union. There is a perceived notion prevailing in the minds of a section of consumers in the state that the pasteurised milk lacks some key qualities of raw milk. However, following the launch of milk fortification with vitamin A & D in September 2019, which was supported by NDDB and Tata Trust, there has been a rise in pouch milk sales. This shift in consumer behaviour is an encouraging situation.
Expanding dairying in Nagaland is a challenging task. According to the 20th Livestock census released in 2019, the cattle population has been reduced to only 78,000 from 2.34 lakh cattle reported in the 19th Livestock census of 2012. In terms of indigenous variety of cattle available in the state, the scenario is not rosy and vastly differs from the rest of the country.
According to the state government officials, most of the farmers keep Holstein Friesian (HF) and Jersey breed of cows, yet Solid Not Fat (SNF) level, which determines the solid content in milk is often reported below 8 (baseline for quality of the milk procured by cooperatives). There is a need to introduce indigenous varieties like Sahiwal which is available in Bengal or Bihar to dairy farmers of Nagaland. The Nagaland Livestock Development Board has started to keep semen of Sahiwal along with Jersey and HF. The Dairy Cooperative Societies have to play a role in adoption of Sahiwal cows by farmers.
“Whenever you talk of indigenous population, there are varieties like Sahiwal, Tharparkar and Gir with milk potential. In our state, there is only one indigenous variety referred as Tho-Tho, which does not have milk potential,” Dr Ao, who is also expert on dairy development in Nagaland, said. The state government along with NDDB must work on genetic improvement of milch animals in Nagaland, which has only 15,000 milch cows. Thus expanding dairying would require a big effort. While the milk processing capacity and other infrastructure support has been created in the state, expanding the availability of animal resources through research would be the real challenge for Nagaland for promotion of dairying as livelihood options.
(Das is Consultant &Misra is Chair-Professor, VergheseKurien Centre of Excellence, Institute of Rural Management, Anand, Gujarat. Views expressed are personal)
Nagaland dairy scenario:
• Annual milk production: 73,000 tonne (2018-19)
• Daily milk production: 2 lakh litres (2018-19), 1.14 lakh litres (marketable surplus)
• Dairy Cooperatives Societies: 72 (mostly in Kohima, Dimapur and Mokokchung districts)
• Procurement by dairy cooperatives (Nagaland State Dairy Cooperative Federation) : 6,000 litres per day and rest is sold directly to consumers
• Existing milk processing capacity by cooperatives: 23,000 litres per day
• Dairy farmers associated with three milk unions and a federation: 4358
• Genetic potential of cows need to improved
Tables:
Milk production (in 000 tonne)
2018-19 2017-18 2016-17 2015-16 2014-15
National 187,749 176,347 165,404 155,491 146,314
Nagaland 73 74 79 77 76
Per capita availability of milk (gram/day)
2018-19 2017-18 2016-17 2015-16 2014-15
National 394 375 355 337 322
Nagaland 81 84 91 89 88