Village Milk Co-operatives: Situational Analysis of Dairy Co-operatives in Kerala

Livestock related interventions are found to be a successful strategy for poverty alleviation all over the world and large percentage of rural population depend on livestock rearing to earn their livelihood. Dairy Farming is a major livestock enterprise in India where small and marginal farmers are engaged to earn their livelihood. The World Bank funded Operation Flood (OF) Programme commonly known as ‘White Revolution’ was instrumental for enhancing the milk production in India. Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (KCMMF) popularly known as MILMA was established in 1980 for the successful implementation of Operation Flood project in Kerala. In the post Operational Flood period, especially from 2003 onwards the milk production in the state has declined. The emerging adverse grass-root situation in the dairy sector is endangering the livelihood option of the marginal framers. In the context of adverse situations of constraints the farmer based producer organizations (co-operatives, associations) are considered as an option for small farmers to unite and stand together to overcome the hurdles in earning a decent livelihood in livestock rearing.