Milk production as supplementary source of income for rural scheduled caste households in Punjab

The mechanisation of farm operations has reduced the absorption of landless scheduled caste labourers in agriculture. The high prevalence of illiteracy and lack of technical skills make it difficult for these labourers to get employment in highly competitive urban labour markets. Most of the male landless scheduled caste labourers commute daily in search of work to nearby urban areas, but cultural constraints restricts the movement of the female labourers outside their villages. The female labourers are confined mainly to domestic work and are free for many hours during a day. These female labourers and male labourers who don't work anywhere else can be profitably involved in dairy farming. Many scheduled caste households keep a small herd of milch animals and even sell surplus milk. The low yielding milch animals, the problem of space to keep the animals and no land to grow fodder hinder the expansion in herd size of milch animals by scheduled caste households. The suitable policy measures like provision of high yielding milch animals, rationing of fodder, subsidized medicines and veterinary services and some land to grow fodder may help to expand dairy farming in scheduled caste landless households.