Sadhana Devi’s story illustrates exactly why it is necessary to empower dairy farmers to adopt climate-smart practices
Sadhana Devi, a dairy farmer from Fatehadad town in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra district, is no stranger to facing hardships and misfortunes — and overcoming them. Her story exemplifies resilience, determination, and the transformative power of practicable solutions.
With a modest income from animal husbandry and a flour mill (around ₹5,500 every month — ₹3,200 from husbandry and ₹1,200 from the flour mill), Sadhana managed her household comprising her three sons, a daughter, and her mother-in-law. All the while, she also took care of her husband who was suffering from cancer since 2019. Sadhana’s financial woes worsened once her husband passed away in 2020, which forced the family to sell a portion of their land.
However, her life has taken a turn for the better after she started participating in the transformative Solidaridad project — the Sustainable Dairy Partnership — from April 2023 onwards. The project aided Sadhana in constructing a loose housing compound for her cattle. She was also provided a bio-digester for biogas production. The introduction of the bio-digester not only eliminated the need for cooking with firewood, saving time and money, but also provided a sustainable solution, (through the biogas produced), thus reducing expenses on gas cylinders. The project further contributed to a reduction in water and electricity bills, leading to more savings for Sadhana and her family. Overall, the project has enabled Sadhana to make significant (projected) yearly savings to the tune of nearly ₹30,000. And, by selling milk at the village-level milk collection centre (VLCC), Sadhana currently makes around ₹12,500 every month.
The success of Sadhana’s efforts under the Sustainable Dairy Partnership has had a positive impact on her community and environment.
Mohd. Dilshad, Senior Programme Manager, Dairy at Solidaridad India, says, “Sadhana Devi is an ambassador of change for her family and community. Her efforts have shown it is possible to prosper economically and, at the same time, leave a net positive impact on the environment by adopting climate-smart dairy practices and clean energy mechanisms.”
The Future is Climate-Smart
Sadhana is one of the many beneficiaries of the Sustainable Dairy Partnership, run by Solidaridad in collaboration with the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform. The aim of the Partnership, inaugurated in September 2022, is two-fold, and in alignment with the broader objectives of sustainability and climate resilience:
i) Promote environment-friendly and climate-resilient dairy practice
ii) Maintain economic viability
The project, which engages with dairy farmers, industry stakeholders, and government agencies, outlines and implements climate-smart dairy practices such as improved feed management, better animal health care, and optimised waste management. These practices are shown to significantly contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing milk production efficiency, and improving resilience to climate variability. It also addresses existing challenges in the dairy sector (resource accessibility, awareness, and technical knowledge, among others) and stresses the need for continued collaboration and capacity-building to effectively scale up climate-smart dairy practices.
The project is currently being implemented in Agra district of Uttar Pradesh and Morena district of Madhya Pradesh. An average milk-production increase of 10% on non-model farms and 20% on model farms has been reported.
Ultimately, the Sustainable Dairy Partnership is leading the call for a holistic approach to climate-smart dairy, encompassing research, extension services, and market linkages, promising benefits to both farmers and the environment.
