Description
The dairy sector in Murunkan veterinary region in Mannar district in the northern province, Sri Lanka was adversely affected by the 30-year-long civil war which ended in 2009. The post-war recovering dairy sector in the region produced 2.11 million litres of milk in 2017. However, the lack of updated information constrained the sector’s development and identification of development interventions. Hence, this study was designed to review the organization of the dairy production system in the Murunkan veterinary region in Mannar district. A survey was conducted involving 100 dairy cattle farmers selected from 40 villages in the Murunkan veterinary region using a questionnaire. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample dairy cattle farmers. Farmers rear indigenous non-descriptive type cattle in a nomadic system using pastures available on roadsides, reservations, uncultivated rice fields and marginal forest areas. Sources of drinking water for cattle were irrigation canals (76%), ponds (46%), village tanks (35%) and wells (9%). The mean herd size and the mean number of milking cows per farmer was 33 and 14 cows respectively. The average milk yield of a cow was 0.92 L per day and it ranged from one litre to three litres per cow. From daily milk production, 64% of farmers consumed milk at home and the rest of the milk was sold at a rate of Rs 100.00 per one litre of milk on average (Rs 358.51= 1US$). The diary income of the farmers accordingly ranged from Rs.6,000.00 to Rs 192,000.00 per month. Contraction of feeding grounds during rice cultivation season (six months of the year) is a major challenge faced by farmers. During this season, herds of cattle were restricted to marginal forest areas and milking was not practised by all the farmers as the cows were far away from farm households. Therefore, the intervention of respective government organisations is of utmost importance to facilitate farmers with required grazing grounds, especially during the paddy cultivation season to maintain consistent milk production.
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Organization of Indigenous Dairy Cattle Production System in Murunkan Veterinary Region in Mannar District, Sri Lanka
The dairy sector in Murunkan veterinary region in Mannar district in the northern province, Sri Lanka was adversely affected by the 30-year-long civil war which ended in 2009. The post-war recovering dairy sector in the region produced 2.11 million litres of milk in 2017. However, the lack of updated information constrained the sector’s development and identification of development interventions. Hence, this study was designed to review the organization of the dairy production system in the Murunkan veterinary region in Mannar district. A survey was conducted involving 100 dairy cattle farmers selected from 40 villages in the Murunkan veterinary region using a questionnaire. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample dairy cattle farmers. Farmers rear indigenous non-descriptive type cattle in a nomadic system using pastures available on roadsides, reservations, uncultivated rice fields and marginal forest areas. Sources of drinking water for cattle were irrigation canals (76%), ponds (46%), village tanks (35%) and wells (9%). The mean herd size and the mean number of milking cows per farmer was 33 and 14 cows respectively. The average milk yield of a cow was 0.92 L per day and it ranged from one litre to three litres per cow. From daily milk production, 64% of farmers consumed milk at home and the rest of the milk was sold at a rate of Rs 100.00 per one litre of milk on average (Rs 358.51= 1US$). The diary income of the farmers accordingly ranged from Rs.6,000.00 to Rs 192,000.00 per month. Contraction of feeding grounds during rice cultivation season (six months of the year) is a major challenge faced by farmers. During this season, herds of cattle were restricted to marginal forest areas and milking was not practised by all the farmers as the cows were far away from farm households. Therefore, the intervention of respective government organisations is of utmost importance to facilitate farmers with required grazing grounds, especially during the paddy cultivation season to maintain consistent milk production.
