Enhancing Empowerment Opportunities Through Milk Based Value Added Products to Farm Women

Abstract

Majority of the farming families in India have marginal to small land holdings and their income is also very less. To enhance the income level and living standard of those farming families there is an urgent need to provide their family members particularly women, an occupation-based training value addition of milk, which not only provides them an occupation but also develop entrepreneurial characteristics amongst them. These trainings are also useful for rural women as they can add more value to the milk by making Paneer, Khoa, Milk cake, Shrikhand, Ice-cream, Dahi, Lassi, Kaladi etc. They fetch more prices of their raw produce after processing. Instead of direct marketing, they did value addition of their milk and then sell them, it increased the value and prices of their products by many folds. After giving them training they are motivated to go for self-marketing of their produce at domestic and village level.

Key word: Training, Value addition, Rural women

Introduction

Approximately 20.5 million people rely on cattle for their livelihood.  In the Indian economy Livestock plays a significant role. In India, the production of livestock is largely in women’s hands. Most of the animal husbandry tasks are carried out by farm women such as carrying fodder from field, chaffing the fodder, preparing animal feed, offering water to animals, protecting animals from ticks and lice, cleaning animals and sheds, preparing dung cakes, milking, ghee-making and marketing. Women play a number of functions, many of which are of greater economic value (Bhopale and Palki, 1998).  Women spent mainly 5.17 hrs. in out of 6.76 hrs. for animal husbandry activities (Malik et al., 2015).

Women contribute around half of the total world population and play a vital role in the farm activities and household management. They contribute substantially in the physical aspect of farming, livestock management, post-harvest and allied activities. Their direct and indirect contribution at the farm and home level along with livestock management operations has not only helped to save purchased labour cost but also led to an increase in family income. However, they often deprived from decision making process due to lack of independent income source in hand. Entrepreneurship development among rural women not only increase national productivity and generates employment but also helps to develop economic independence and personal and social upliftment.

Women have some string qualities of desirable and relevant to entrepreneurship development such as their ability to manage details, dedication to the work they take up, tolerance and kindness toward peoples. Therefore, to raise the status of farm women it is important to empower them by increasing the income level (Chikkanna et al.,2020).

India is the world’s largest milk producer, so farmer women’s position in the dairy industry and society’s socio-economic growth is very important.

Importance of value addition in milk

Milk is the most valuable protein food that widely consumed by people all over the world. The milk as a raw food is easily available on various dairy farms that can be processed to increases the variety of nutrients. The milk processing includes the fluid milk production, cheese production, yogurt production, ice cream production to make the huge variety of milk products like cheese, butter, cream, skimmed milk, yogurt, toned milk or double toned milk and much more. Milk processing allows the preservation of milk for days, weeks or months and helps to reduce food-borne illness.

Value addition is a process that elevates a production into a product. Value addition is the enhancement added to a product or service by a company before the product is offered to the consumers (Chatterjee and Das,2017). Value is added by altering the shape, colour, taste and other methods of a commodities to improve the shelf life of the perishables.  It is also possible to add value to a commodity by entering the demand at the right time.  This may include transporting the product to places where more income can be earned, or store it and sell it when the demand is high. Value addition minimizes waste and improves commodity quality that achieves better prices (Kedere, 2006; Government of Kenya, 2004; Latham, 1997).  Therefor value addition to milk will increase buying power of women entrepreneurs thereby raising their living standards, will also improve with the rise in their income, in turn; contribute to the growth of nation’s economy and people’s welfare (GEDAM 2011).

Value addition enhances profit margins. Margins in the liquid milk is 4-5 %, and for value added dairy products (VADPs) it reaches up to 34% (15- 34%), (Rao, 2020).

Importance of Women Empowerment

In recent times, everyone is pointing on the empowerment of women. It’s right to say that women’s empowerment has become the necessity of the time. Women should possess liberty, faith, and self-worth to opt for their needs and demands. Discrimination based on gender is useless and is having zero worth by looking at the growth of women in the last few decades. Women are paid less and are treated as a cook and slave in families, and their real potential fails to get highlighted. Women empowerment in India is required to overcome situations of such types and to provide them with their independent role in Indian society. Empowering women is a necessary right of women. They should have proportional rights to contribute to society, economics, education, and politics. They are approved to gain higher education and receive a similar treatment as men are receiving.

Conclusion

Woman has been as important as man. In fact, the status, employment and work performed by women in society are the indicators of a nation’s overall progress. Without the participation of women in national activities, the social, economical or political progress of a country will be stagnated. Rural women can play a significant role by their effectual and competent involvement in entrepreneurial activities. They have basic indigenous knowledge, skill and potential and resources to establish and manage enterprise. Income generating activities are effective instrument of social and economic development to generate employment for a number of farm women within their own social system and best tool for rural women as it adds to the family income.

References:

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