VULNERABILITY OF DAIRY FARMERS TO RISK AND UNCERTAINTY IN COASTAL ODISHA AND EFFECTIVENESS OF COPING STRATEGIES
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Date
2019
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Publisher
ICAR-NDRI, KARNAL
Abstract
Risk is all pervasive in Indian agriculture and dairy sector is no exception to that. Odisha
being a coastal state faces huge risk from climatic occurrences and underdeveloped
production environment. Keeping this in view, the present study assessed risk, Vulnerability
to risk and formulated risk efficient farm plans for coastal Odisha region. The primary data
collected for the study pertains to the year 2015-16 collected from 400 households of the 4
districts of the coastal region of Odisha. The primary data were supplemented by the
secondary data on cost of production, cost inputs and animal population of the region as
required by the study. Risk and risk factors facing the dairy farmers were studied both at
regional and farm level. The vulnerability of farmers was assessed by construction of a
vulnerability index constructed as a function of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity.
Regression analysis was carried out in determining the factors affecting the farm level
vulnerability. Farm enterprises diversification along with extent of adoption of livestock and
crop insurance was assessed as strategies of risk diffusion. Finally risk efficient composite
farm plans were formulated for the different categories of farm households by use of linear
programming techniques and Minimisation of Total Absolute Deviation (MOTAD) model.
Repeat breeding appears to be affecting the crossbred (CB) cows much more than the local
cows. Among diseases, mastitis appears to be greatest contributor to household (HH) losses
at about 40 per cent share while FMD and Blood protozoan diseases were found to be the
second and third highest contributors. The natural calamity mortality of dairy animals was
found to be very less in comparison to the diseases mortality at about 0.33 and 4.56 per
cent, respectively. The regional economic loss to dairy and crop sector in coastal Odisha was
found to be about Rs. 34,000 lakhs and Rs. 1,898 crores per annum, respectively. About 44
per cent of landless households were found to fall under highly vulnerable and very highly
vulnerable category combinedly while the same in case of marginal farmers was found close
to 50 per cent. The study found decrease in vulnerability with the increase in farm sizes.
Regional location of households was found to be a factor affecting the degree of
vulnerability of farmers, confirming different level of vulnerability between the two coastal
region of Odisha. Animal husbandry diversification index was found to be highest in case of
landless farmers at about 0.631 suggesting their greater dependence on livestock and
diversifying for lowering the risk. The overall coverage of livestock mortality and crop
damage by adoption of insurance coverages were found to be about 14 per cent and 20 per
cent, respectively. In the composite risk efficient farm plans, increase in cropping intensity
and increase in area of cash crops like groundnut and vegetable suggests them as crops of
higher return with relatively lower risk association. Among dairy animals crossbred cows
appeared to be more preferable than the local cows. The small animal holdings like goat and
sheep increased in all farm plans in comparison to their present level of holdings suggesting
them to be risk efficient farm activities with prospects of higher return.