Seguridad de ingresos para la infancia: protección

Subrahmanyeswari Bodapati1

Key words: perception, organic dairy standards, information needs, empowerment, stakeholders

1 Professor & Head, Dept. of Veterinary & A.H.Extension Education, NTR College of Veterinary Science, Gannavaram, Andhra Pradesh, (SVVU, Tirupati), India 521102., www.svvu.edu.in ; email: [email protected]

Role of Livestock in Sustainable Agriculture IAHA Pre-Conference on Organic Animal Husbandry November 7-8, 2017 linked to the 19th Organic World Congress, New Delhi, India, November 9-11, 2017 Organized by IAHA, FiBL, OFAI, NCOF, ICAR-IVRI , ANTHRA, IFOAM

Acknowledgments

The registered organic farmers of Uttarakhand state, Uttarakhand Organic Commodity Board (UOCB) and organic farmers of Andhra Pradesh for cooperating and providing valuable information, including the student whose findings are quoted,are greatfully acknowledged. Introduction

Organic agriculture has been rapidly growing around the world including in India where the main focus is on high value crops having export potential. The Government of India is keen to promote organic animal husbandry and the livestock standards were notified in 2015, however, the standards are not yet commonly known indicating the need for capacity building of the main stakeholders (Subrahmanyeswari & Mahesh Chander 2015). Organic production systems are knowledge intensive, where the producers need to be knowledgeable about production and processing norms prescribed and approved by the authorities such as APEDA, BIS, FSSAI, etc. The farmers producing organic crop products would like to venture into livestock production too, as their livestock production systems are more or less organic by default. This expansion of organic livestock production creates a need for empowered information providers who are knowledgeable about organic livestock standards. Thus this paper deals with the needs and capacity building requirements of the main stakeholders of organic dairy production.

Material for the case report

Secondary data was taken from the reports of the research that have been conducted in the state of Uttarakhand among 180 registered organic farmers of Uttarakhand Organic Commodity Board (UOCB) through direct interview during doctoral dissertation work by the author during 2006. Further research work done among 60 dairy farmers who are the organic crop cultivators and 60 veterinarians by a post-graduate student under the guidance of the author in 2016 in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In the state of Uttarakhand, organic farming is being promoted systematically by the Uttarakhand Organic Commodity Board through formation of organic producer groups, whereas, in Andhra Pradesh, organic farming is being taken up by farmers through formation of association at various levels with the encouragement by both government and non-government organizations. In both the states, farmers can market organic crop produce and would also like to venture into organic dairy farming, but this development requires support and capacity building at various levels. The study in Andhra Pradesh emphasized the need for capacity building of both the field veterinarians and the farmers who had medium level of knowledge about the organic dairy standards (Naidu baadireddy, 2017).

The studies revealed that the majority of farmers were motivated by the values of organic farming due to their similarity with the Indian traditional farming system. Other reasons for wishing to adopt organic farming were bad experiences with the methods of conventional farming, the price premium for organic products with the rising future market, etc. However, organic farming as a social obligation to produce quality food and as a social status was, among other reasons, also the reason for some farmers to take up organic farming. These farmers are inquisitively looking for guidance with regard to organic dairy farming. The majority of farmers were found to have a favourable perception and attitude towards the organic dairy standards (Subrahmanyeswari 2007), however, they have a low level of knowledge in this area. A majority of farmers expressed information needs in the areas of management of animal in organic systems, preparation of organic balanced ration for dairy animals, animal health management in organic system, processing and packaging of organic livestock products etc.

A study among the veterinarians of Andhra Pradesh revealed a favourable perception of

veterinarians towards organic dairy farming. However, they were lacking in knowledge with regard to organic dairy production and were keen to learn and expressed interest to know more about the animal therapy system in organic systems, feeding patterns of animals along with certification and marketing procedures (Naidu baadireddy, 2017).

Discussion and conclusion

The findings of the studies revealed that the organic farmers need to be strengthened through provision of information and practical orientation. This should begin with capacity building of veterinarians, who will be working with farmers at farm level. For promotion of organic dairying, capacity building of two main stakeholders i.e. veterinarians and organic farmers needs to be done at various levels.

Capacity building of veterinarians: the following continuing education programmes need to be carried out through;

1. Regional workshops on organic animal husbandry by Indian Council of Agriculture Research, State Veterinary Universities and other promoting agencies to popularise the concept of organic farming and importance of animals in organic system.

2. Training programmes at various levels.

3. Encouraging veterinarians to document indigenous farming practices of farmers and linking them with research stations for scientific validation for ensuring applicability in organic systems (Mahesh Chander & Subrahmanyeswari 2010).

4. Encouragement to conduct research in organic dairy through public private partnership in the various agro-climatic regions of India.

5. Awareness about the need to conserve germplasm of local breeds, which play a vital role in promotion of organic farming.

Capacity building of organic farmers:

1. Wider awareness creation among the farming community with regard to organic principles and standards.

2. Scientific validation of farmers’ indigenous knowledge. 3. Documentation of farmers traditional farm practices.

4. Establishment of demonstration farms about feasibility of organic dairy units at various regional levels.

5. Orienting and training the dairy farmers about organic production and processing. 6. Encouraging farmer to farmer networks for effective dissemination of organic farming

practices.

7. Supplementation with information material in the vernacular languages. 8. Provision of incentives to farmers who are conserving native breeds.

9. Production and marketing of dairy products can be encouraged on co-operative lines. A systematic approach with the main stakeholders will result in development of organic dairy production especially in countries like India, where natural farm resources are abundant and farmers have values that are similar to the principles of organic farming.

References

Mahesh Chander and B.Subrahmanyeswari (2010) Indigenous breeds can improve sustainability of organic livestock production systems- an Indian Perspective.19-20pp.

Naidu, S. Baadireddy (2017). Status of organic dairy farming: an exploratory study in Andhra Pradesh.MVSc, thesis submitted to SVVU, Tirupati.

Subrahmanyeswari B (2007) Knowledge Attitude and Practices of Organic Farmers with special reference to Livestock Farming: An exploratory study in Uttarakhand state of India. PhD Thesis submitted to Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar.

Subrahmanyeswari B and Mahesh Chander (2015) Presented paper: Organic livestock and poultry standards-The knowledge gap. IVEF National Seminar on Teaching, Research and Extension Gaps in Livestock Development, Puducherry, August 28-29, 2015.

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