Ravi., a dairy farmer in Keelara village in Mandya district in the heart of the Old Mysore region, has been able to earn a supplementary income from the cows that he rears and from the paddy he cultivates. However, the long spell of drought since last year forced him to sell two cows about six months ago because fodder has become difficult to procure.
He now has one cow to ensure milk supply to his own family and he is able to sell only a couple of extra litres to the local milk co-operative society. Though he has a borewell, the water yield has reduced so drastically that he cannot even grow green fodder. Purchasing fodder is out of the question because it is too expensive.
There are similar stories across Mandya, Kolar, Tumakuru, and Bengaluru Rural districts, which contribute the bulk of the Karnataka Milk Federation’s (KMF) milk procurement, along with Hassan, Mysuru, and Shivamogga districts in the State.
