FIFTEEN YEARS ago Mangat Ram decided to start living the life he had always dreamed of. He quit his job in an automobile factory and bought two buffaloes to start a dairy. "I foresaw better future in dairy since milk demand was increasing," he says. A resident of Haryana's Lokra village in Gurugram district, Mangat Ram also pursued a course to become a certified veterinarian. His business sense proved impeccable by 2021, when he owned 39 cows, calves and bulls and was earning ₹2.43 lakh a month from milk sale. But something happened towards the end of year that jolted him out of his dream-an unprecedented rise in fodder price. From ₹4,250 per tonne in November 2021, fodder prices rose to ₹15,000 in May 2022. The over threefold increase in the cost of the most critical input (food for animals accounts for up to 60 per cent of the input cost) in just six months turned his finances upside down. Normally, Mangat Ram would earn up to ₹65,000 a year from one cow. "I will suffer a loss of ₹54,000 a year from each cow now. The milk still sells at the same rate while the input cost has trebled," he says. "Between December 2021 and March 2022, I incurred a loss of ₹2.5-3 lakh," he adds.
In May, when Down To Earth (DTE) visited Mangat Ram, he had already sold or donated 28 cows at a throwaway price of ₹5,000 per head (these could have been sold for ₹80,000 per head) and retained seven cows, two calves and two bulls. "I do not see fodder price falling soon or getting to the level at which maintaining a cow remains profitable," he says.
Like Mangat Ram, most residents of Lokra have sold their cows. The population of milch animals in the village has dwindled from 450 to 150 in the past one year, say residents. "Milk production has come down to a fourth of what it was six months ago," says Praveen Yadav of the village, who runs a dairy.
Denne historien er fra June 16, 2022-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June 16, 2022-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara