Analysis On Performance And Future Potential Of Dairy Cooperative Unions In Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Dairy production is traditionally an important source of livelihood for the rural population of India and an integral part of the crop-livestock production system. On the supply side there are a large number of unorganized and scattered small-scale producers in the rural areas. There is an increasing demand for milk products triggered by population growth, a rise in income levels and urbanization. The challenge is to bring together these groups in a way as to ensure fair incomes for producers and relatively low prices for consumers. This is complicated considering the perishability of milk, seasonal fluctuations of supplied quantities, as well as the lack of procurement technologies and transportation infrastructure in rural areas. Dairy cooperatives are considered a way to address these issues. By establishing cooperatively their own collection system and processing facilities, farmers can be assured a stable market and fair prices. Over the last decades dairy cooperatives have spread widely over India, now there are more than 76,000 village-level cooperative societies and 11 million producer-members in the different states of India. Therefore, this paper investigates performance of the primary dairy cooperative societies with respect to procurement of milk.