Some of the largest dairy farms in the Indian subcontinent are buffaloes farms in the peri-urban areas of India and Pakistan. However, these farms continue with their archaic methods and practices, which are harmful to both man and beast. The answer lies in mechanization of farms. However, can Indian farmers afford mechanization? Or worse, can they afford to delay mechanization? Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.
Covid-19 lock-downs and the resultant exodus of migrant laborers from cities exacerbated the woes of dairy farm owners. As a result, they found it difficult to recruit a reliable work force. Milking, feeding, and manure-handling are labor-intensive operations on all dairy farms. Even so, farm owners can overcome the problem of labor shortage only through mechanization. Therein lies the problem.
Mechanization doesn’t come cheap. Experienced vendors and branded companies are eager to extract their pound of flesh. Hard selling did leave several farmers high and dry. Mechanization is a bitter-sweet magic pill. Farmers can’t spit it out because it’s too sweet. Neither can they swallow it because it’s too bitter. The Indian dairy farmer deserves a better deal. In the best interest of this nation – not to mention those of farmers and their livestock – government agencies and the private sector should step in to make mechanization of farms affordable.
