Investigating the Productivity of Traditional Dairy Farms in Suburbs of Aligarh, India

Abstract

The productivity index is one of the most efficient indices in economic analysis. This index can compare the existing activity of an operating unit with the desired situation and show the amount of quantitative and qualitative changes made in the production unit. Investigating the productivity of traditional dairy farms is essential because they significantly contribute to India's milk production and are effective in improving the welfare of farmers. This study tries to estimate the productivity of traditional dairy farm units by emphasizing the incomes and expenses of conventional dairy farms (between one and seven heads of dairy farm) using appropriate models. It calculates the highest level of productivity according to the user classes. In this study, the productivity index has been calculated for each user class in 2022-2023 and compared with each other. In addition, the productivity of single-heads, double-heads, and seven-heads has also been calculated. The results of the research showed that the increase in the number of cows leads to a decrease in the cost of maintenance and, as a result, an increase in the productivity index. It was also found that the units of single-head have problems in the field of inseminating cows at the right time due to the lack of timely recognition of cow estrus, that this issue has caused the prolongation of the Reproduction Cycle and the increase of the costs of the dry period of cows, so that the productivity index of single head cattle farms is less than one. Thus, economically, the existence of these dairy farms is not profitable; while in cattle farms with seven dairy cows, this index was calculated as 1.7, which indicates better productivity.