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Joining a collective of women goat farmers improved Anita tai’s livelihood and income. Read her story of change below!
Anita Nirmal is a farmer from Pardoli village in Bhoom taluka of Osmanabad, Maharashtra. Coming from a poor and landless household, Anita tai and her husband both worked as daily wage labourers in other farms for many years. Around ten years back, Anita tai started rearing goats in her backyard. Though the number of goats increased to twenty goats by the end of 2020, she faced significant losses due to malnutrition and ill-health of her goats. There were many women who were raising goats in her village, but there was little technical knowledge that these farmers had about goat rearing. In 2021, SSP started working in Anita tai’s village, and assessing the needs of women, facilitated the creation of a women goat farmers group.
Through this group, Anita tai and her fellow goat farmers received trainings on improving the nutrition, health and sanitation of goats, as well as awareness about vaccinations, deworming and how to respond to small medical issues that might arise with their goats. Anita tai was one of the first women in her village to implement what was learnt in the training. From providing nutritional supplements to her goats to getting them vaccinated and improving their feed, she made many changes in her goat farming techniques. Soon enough, she noticed that the health of her goats improved, and she was able to sell her goats at a higher rate to buyers.
Dairy businesses thrive in Tuljapur region of Osmanabad, Maharashtra. This however, does not mean that the farmers get a fare share of the profits. The malpractices around the business, which leaves the farmers with very less returns, often dissuades them from selling the milk to the dairy units.
As the mortality of Anita tai’s goats reduced, she increased her goat herd by 15 goats within one year itself. Today, Anita tai earns over 2 lakhs rupees per year from her goat rearing income. Five years back, Anita tai and her husband saved up enough money to purchase one-acre of land. As a result of increased income since joining the group, they have also started renting more land in the village to increase their farming operations. Anita tai is now using the large amount of goat dung from her herd of 35 goats as manure in her fields, leading to reduced input costs and improved yield of crops. Her example has inspired over 20 women in her village to start implementing new methods in their goat rearing practice. She also guides other women in her village on good goat rearing practices.
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