Climate Risk Management of Small Dairy Farmers in Regional South India

Climate Risk Management of Small Dairy Farmers in Regional South India

Climate risk in dairy farming is complicated and pervasive. Extreme climate events such as heatwaves, drought, and heavy rainfall translate into milk production and price risks, significantly impacting the income and profitability of dairy farmers. Milk production has faced numerous challenges in India over recent decades. These include fluctuations in yield, low milk prices, feed management challenges, animal health issues, and breeding aspects. More importantly, an increase in year-to-year and intra-seasonal variability in rainfall across the country has posed major challenges to dairy farmers and has harmed milk production. This emphasises the need to develop robust risk management strategies to effectively manage climate risk in dairy farms in rural areas in India. However, studies on dairy farmers' response to climate risks and how these risks affect their income generation in India are limited. The objectives of this PhD research project are as follows: 1) To investigate smallholder dairy farmers' perceptions of climate risks and their impact on dairy activities, examine the current risk management strategies, and identify hindrances and opportunities and factors driving their choice of coping and adaptation strategies for climate-change-related risks in their dairy farming system; 2) To understand the knowledge of existing livestock insurance and factors that influence their willingness to pay for index-based cattle insurance products and; 3) To assess and quantify the impact of climate impact change on milk production and how much of an impact they have in the study area. A total of (N=104) dairy farmers spread across Bengaluru urban, Bengaluru rural, and Chikkaballapur districts of Karnataka were surveyed for this study. The data was statistically analyzed with farmer responses and preferences for climate risk management, and their willingness to pay for index insurance assessed, as well as their perspectives on a range of different climatic factors most affecting milk production. The study's findings indicate that dairy farmers see drought, pests, diseases, and high temperatures as the primary risks of climate change. This has led to a decrease in dairy income and an increase in management requirements such as nutrition and temperature control methods. The coping mechanisms adopted include buying livestock insurance, keeping low debt obligations, and growing drought-tolerant grass varieties. Further, the research shows that the uptake of current cattle insurance is low (6%) due to a lack of awareness of its benefits. However, most farmers face significant challenges in adopting these strategies due to high costs and weak institutional support. Most importantly, the study found that certain factors like age, education, number of earning family members, milk production, cost of production, and farm holdings significantly influenced climate risk adaptation strategies that were adopted. The study recommends that providing reliable seasonal climate forecasts, access to new technologies for feeds and fodder preservation, implementing improved policies in cattle health services, affordable cattle insurance, and strong institutional support systems and extension services can help dairy farmers become more resilient to climate change and improve their livelihoods.

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