Project Title: Optimising Knowledge and Information Transfer: Disseminating Innovation in the Feeding of Dairy Cattle in India as a Poverty Reduction Entry Point.
Description: This project has undertaken a systematic evaluation of improved approaches to knowledge transfer for farmers engaging in small-scale dairy production as a developmental route out of poverty. Effective uptake and impacts of improved dairy management have been patchy for this type of farmer. Some individuals manage profitable units with average milk yields in excess of 15 litres / day but a substantial majority, with the same cross-bred stock, struggle to maintain lactations at all. As a result, the need for better information systems that allow farmers to practise flexible and responsive management strategies, particularly in respect of feed planning and management, has been widely identified. There now exists a considerable body of information on technical and managerial interventions that will support the successful adoption of small-scale dairy production. In addition a number of novel tools (both computer and paper-based, static and dynamic) for facilitating the transfer of these findings are now available. The project has been integrating these tools and media into a flexible, user-friendly system for the dissemination of improved approaches to the management of small-scale dairy production. The development of a tiered approach to information delivery is a key, novel feature of the project. Only recently have dynamic planning tools become available that can be applied close to the farm (DRASTIC) or even by farmers themselves (Talking Pictures - Dairy). During the project these tools will be applied to the real problems of disadvantaged livestock keepers in India. In addition to the development of methods for applying the tools and testing these, due consideration has been given to wider distribution amongst target organizations and institutions in South Asia and beyond.
Partners: BAIF Development Research Foundation, ANTHRA, Valsad District Dairy Cooperative Union
Funded by: Department for International Development.
Status: Ongoing.
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