The contribution of small scale diary production to improve rural live hood : A case study of Batticaloa District

Abstract

Small scale dairy production is an important source of income generation in the rural livelihood of Sri Lanka. Therefore socio economic survey was conducted in the Batticaloa district to study the contribution of small scale dairy production to improve rural livelihood. Three hundred and five small scale dairy producers in the six government veterinary divisions in the Batticaloa district were selected at random and were interviewed by using structured questionnaire with the objective of characterizing dairy production, handling, breeding, marketing systems, the amount sold by each household as well as to prioritize constraints associated with the dairy enterprise as identified by the producers and opportunities for dairy development in the area. Two major dairy production systems, namely the extensive production and semi intensive production systems were identified. This study found that the dairy enterprise was a male domain under extensive production system (87.5%) whereas only 12.5% were female. Majority of cattle population in the Batticaloa district are of non-descript and indigenous in origin with low productivity compared to other existing exotic breeds and their crosses but they are well adapted in the tropical harsh environment, have ability to maintain their body condition on poor quality feed stuffs and are well resistant to local diseases. The average family size of small scale dairy producers was 6.17 persons and the bulk of the labour requirements are met through family labour. Most of the respondents ranged in age between 18 - 40 years (62.0%) and this should, ceteris paribus, have a positive effect on productivity. The overall proportion of illiterate farmers was 19 %. The education level is observed to be very low among small scale dairy producers which are somehow correlated with the socio-economic status of households. It was found that 77.0% of small scale dairy producers were involved in full time dairy production and 23.0% of them were part time. An average land holding was 4 acre. Land availability is the major limiting factor in keeping indigenous cattle as they are generally kept in large numbers …