Economics of Badri cattle rearing in Uttarakhand

Abstract

Badri cattle has been registered as the first cattle breed of Uttarakhand. The cattle is mainly reared by marginal and landless farmers so it's profitability and production performance are important aspects for conserving the breed and for improving economic condition of the farmers. The present study was, therefore conducted to study the net profit through Badri cattle rearing which will help in policy formulation and identification of remedial measures to conserve the cattle and increase profit earned through it. This study was conducted in 12 villages from 2 blocks of Almora and Pauri Garhwal District each by personally interviewing 120 Badri cattle owners through semi structured interview schedule. The average total expenditure, total return and net profit per year through the Badri cattle was ` 19,072±590.85, ` 20,051±792.2 and ` 979.3±200.9 respectively. Average milk production/day, lactation length, dry period and calving interval were 1.6±0.7 litres/day, 11.78 months, 1.9±0.7 months and 13.72±1.9 months respectively. In conclusion, net profit earned through cattle revealed that the improvement in milk yield, agricultural practices and marketing facility are required to improve the net profit earned through cattle to turn it towards a profitable business.