A productivity enhancement programme that concluded at Amba, near Lakkidi, on Wednesday provided a fresh experience to the tribal dairy farmers of the Sugandhagiri Dairy Project.
The programme, including an awareness seminar on dairying and animal health camp, was organised by the Directorate of Entrepreneurship, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), as a part of its 2030 programme.
The Sugandhagiri Dairy Project was launched to resettle the bonded tribal people in the district by the end of 1970. Under the project, 5 acres of land was given to 60 tribal families. Their main livelihood is dairying and they have been rearing nearly 260 cross-bred Jersey and Holstein Friesian cows and selling the milk at the nearest Amul-pattern milk co-operative society of the Malabar Region Co-operative Milk Producers Union (MRCMPU).
“Though an entrepreneurship centre functioning at Sugandhagiri is providing necessary veterinary services to us, the seminar gave us a new experience as we could learn about the innovative services provided by the KVASU such as advisory call and emergency services christened ‘e-Vet connect’ to meet any emergency,” says S. Balan, a tribal farmer.
“The region has better prospectus for popularising dairying as a livelihood option because of the availability of green fodder round the year. Moreover, diseases like mastitis and infertility–which are common among cross-bred cattle–are comparatively rare in the region,” says Vidya, Assistant Professor, Directorate of Entrepreneurship, KVASU.
Experts of KVASU, MRCMPU and Animal Husbandry Department led classes on various aspects of modern dairying.
