BIHAR: The Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (Jeevika), in partnership with the Aga Khan Foundation and with technical support from the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), has launched Project Dhenu Dhara to improve milk productivity and strengthen the incomes of smallholder dairy farmers.
The two-year initiative targets 20,000 small and marginal dairy producers in Nalanda and Muzaffarpur districts. According to the project details provided, it aims to increase milk production by up to 10% and raise participating households’ incomes by as much as 20%.
The initiative focuses on improving animal nutrition, strengthening livestock healthcare and expanding access to scientific dairy management practices at the village level.
200 Women Livestock Service Providers to Support Farmers
A key component of Project Dhenu Dhara is the deployment of 200 trained women livestock service providers, known as pashu sakhis. They will work directly with dairy households to provide guidance on feeding, animal health and reproductive management.
The programme incorporates NDDB’s Ration Balancing Programme, which helps determine appropriate feed combinations based on an animal’s nutritional requirements and the availability of local feed resources.
By balancing energy, protein, minerals and other essential nutrients, farmers can potentially improve milk yield and feed-use efficiency without unnecessarily increasing feeding costs.
The project also emphasises reproductive management, including the timely identification of heat, appropriate breeding practices and the management of calving intervals. Better reproductive performance can help reduce unproductive periods and improve the productive use of dairy animals.
Focus on Affordable Animal Healthcare
Livestock healthcare is another important element of the initiative. The programme reportedly includes ethno-veterinary medicine approaches, alongside broader animal husbandry guidance, to address selected common livestock health problems.
Such approaches must use appropriately validated treatments and should complement, rather than replace, qualified veterinary diagnosis and treatment. Conditions such as mastitis require particular care because delayed or inadequate treatment can harm animal welfare, milk quality and farm income.
Preventive healthcare, timely veterinary assistance, hygienic milking and appropriate vaccination and deworming practices can help reduce avoidable production losses.
Addressing Bihar’s Dairy Productivity Challenges
Bihar’s dairy sector relies heavily on smallholder households, many of which maintain only a few animals. Inadequate balanced feeding, limited access to veterinary services and seasonal shortages of green fodder can constrain milk production and profitability.
Project Dhenu Dhara seeks to address these challenges by bringing practical technical support closer to farmers. Improving productivity at the farm level can also strengthen milk collection volumes and support the wider cooperative dairy network, including the Bihar State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation (COMFED), which markets milk and dairy products under the Sudha brand.
Higher and more consistent milk production could improve the availability of raw milk for organised processing, although the extent of that benefit will depend on local procurement infrastructure and farmers’ participation in formal milk markets.
Better Feeding Could Improve Farm Economics
Feed and fodder represent a major share of dairy production costs. Consequently, improving ration quality and matching feed inputs to animals’ nutritional requirements can help farmers manage expenditure while supporting milk yield.
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For smallholders, the benefits of higher productivity depend not only on the additional milk produced but also on the cost of achieving that increase. Changes in feed expenses, veterinary costs, milk prices and animal productivity will determine the actual improvement in net farm income.
The project’s income target of up to 20% will therefore need to be assessed using farm-level data on milk output, input costs and net earnings.
Women’s Participation at the Centre of Dairy Extension
The involvement of pashu sakhis places women livestock service providers at the centre of the programme’s delivery model. Their village-level presence can improve farmers’ access to regular advice and create opportunities for women to develop skills and earn income through livestock-related services.
If successful, the approach could offer a model for extending scientific dairy management practices to other rural communities in Bihar and eastern India.
Project Outcomes Will Be Important for Wider Expansion
Project Dhenu Dhara combines community-based extension, balanced feeding, animal healthcare and reproductive management in an effort to make smallholder dairying more productive and economically sustainable.
As the two-year initiative progresses in Nalanda and Muzaffarpur, its impact will need to be measured against the stated targets for milk production and household income. Evidence on feed efficiency, animal health, farmer participation and women’s livelihoods will help determine whether the model can be expanded to other districts.
For Bihar’s dairy sector, the central opportunity is to translate improved animal management into sustained gains in milk productivity, farmer profitability and reliable milk supplies for organised dairy processing.
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