A framework for evaluation of sustainability index of small scale dairy farms in India

Cattle management forms an integral part in deciding the efficiency of any dairy farm, small scale or large. Addressing the key operands of a dairy farm, like resource availability, revenue source, manpower availability, herd quality and health, and infrastructure readiness is critical in determining its functional potency. India’s worldwide dominance in total milk production can be attributed to the global-highest cattle population, although the per cattle yield is very low. Efforts should be focused on investigating the implementation of efficient management strategies in cow farming to remedy the existing deficiencies. Accurate quantification prior to and during the introduction of management strategies is the only way to determine any resulting change. The current study presents a framework for measuring the sustainability index of small scale dairy farms (SDFs), considering indicators discussed earlier. The current study also discusses the taxonomy for the indicators considered. An understanding of the limits of every parameter is crucial to determining the absolute values of individual indicators which in turn generate the ultimate sustainability index. Using the methodology followed by the multi-criteria decision making tool MIVES, the study attempts to numerically define the overall sustainability of SDFs. The analysis follows a value function approach, where each operand is divided into sub-criteria that are composed of pertinent indicators which are assigned specific numeric values between 0 and 1, 0 being least preferred while 1 being the most. The study investigates the sustainability of 15 functional SDFs from across India belonging to different management systems, and grades them on the basis of their final sustainability scores. 15 SDF’s are studied in this work and found that highest SI is 0.82 while the lowest is 0.19. The SDF with higher SI are found to engage not only in value added milk based products but also valorization of cow dung and cow urine. The framework will be helpful to SDF owner to identify hot spots to improve and policy makers for accreditation.