Dairy farmers, especially those in India, are often overlooked in mainstream discussions on climate change. Yet these rural producers, responsible for about 62% of the nation’s milk, are deeply vulnerable to climate risks like heat stress, fodder scarcity, and water shortages. Ensuring their sustainability isn’t just morally right; it’s essential for agriculture’s long-term resilience.
Recognising their climate vulnerability
Smallholder dairy farmers, typically managing just 2–5 animals, face direct threats from rising temperatures, erratic rainfall patterns, and fodder shortages. These challenges reduce milk yield, increase disease incidence, and squeeze household incomes. Studies from South India show that nearly 90% of respondents perceive drought, pests, and heat waves as serious climate risks, affecting both cattle health and dairy earnings.
Agents of sustainability
With the right support, dairy farmers can become frontline agents of rural sustainability:
- Clean feed, such as drought-tolerant forage or fodder grown from crop residues, can reduce methane while boosting nutrition.
- On-farm energy options like biogas and dung-based bio-CNG units manage waste and provide clean fuel, improving environmental and household welfare.
- Water-saving techniques—from recycled wash water to rainwater harvesting—can significantly lower freshwater use in dairy operations.
Strategic sense
Strengthening public health & nutrition
Milk delivers essential proteins, calcium, and nutrients, especially critical in rural and low-income households. Climate shocks that disrupt milk production threaten not just farmer livelihoods but national nutrition security.
Safeguarding farmer livelihoods
As climate-induced stress reduces milk yields, farmers may resort to distress sales, perpetuating poverty cycles. Supporting them with climate-smart tools helps stabilise incomes and retain rural workers.
Carbon & Emission Management
About 48% of India’s agricultural methane emissions derive from cattle digestion and manure. Clean feeding and manure management can significantly reduce these emissions, even as the farmers thrive.
Scaling climate-smart dairy
Globally and domestically, models exist for scaling:
- The NDDB’s manure-to-biogas initiative in Gujarat, which has transformed dung into bio-CNG and fertiliser, is a successful model of circular dairy practices.
- National initiatives such as NICRA encourage climate-smart villages, integrating dairy into community-wide climate adaptation.
However, changes require systemic support through:
- Subsidies and grants for climate-smart inputs like clean feed, rainwater systems, and green energy units.
- Extension services leveraging grassroots channels like cooperatives and PRIs to deliver best practices on fodder, feed, and water management.
- Public–private partnerships that empower both local and women farmers. Programs in Tamil Nadu have boosted climate-smart milk production led by women.
- Insurance and credit facilities tailored for dairy farmers to protect against climate risks and enable capital investments.
Holistic path forward
To truly empower dairy farmers, climate action must be inclusive and integrated:
-Farmer Capacity: Build training programs tailored to dairy ecosystems.
-Climate-Smart Finance: Design loans, grants, and microcredit for climate resilience.
-Tech and Market Linkages: Connect farmers to premium markets for climate-smart dairy.
-Data-Driven Insights: Use digital sensors and local weather forecasts for resource planning.
Dairy farmers are more than livestock tenders—they’re rural stewards whose practices shape soil, water, nutrition, and climate futures. Investing in their sustainability aligns purpose with productivity. Doing so helps India’s dairy industry transform into a climate-resilient, nutrition-rich powerhouse.
Empowering these farmers isn’t just a climate strategy. It’s a call to action: one that strengthens livelihoods, secures nutrition, and sets a model for climate-smart agriculture. In this transformation lies the blueprint for a healthier, more equitable rural India.
