Family Dairy Tech

India is de grootste en snelst groeiende markt voor melk en melk gerelateerde producten ter wereld. De melk is voor een groot deel afkomstig van kleine Indiase familiebedrijven, die op zoek zijn naar manieren om hun bedrijfsvoering rendabeler te maken en meer melk tegen een betere duurzame kwaliteit te kunnen produceren.
Nederlandse bedrijven en kennisinstellingen zijn in het SIA Project Family Dairy Tech de afgelopen jaren aan de slag gegaan om deze boeren hierbij te helpen. Daarvoor bleek noodzakelijk dat de hoogwaardige kennis, producten en diensten waarover Nederland op dit gebied beschikt, robuuster, eenvoudiger en goedkoper werd gemaakt.
Het project heeft zeven verbeterconcepten opgeleverd op gebied van
- stallenbouw (lichtgewicht, duurzaam, modulair en hittebestendig),
- koe-management (door betere dataverzameling, meer gebruik van lokale koeienrassen, beter voer, en meer aandacht voor hygiëne)
- en marktontwikkeling (garanties voor een betere melkkwaliteit, andere afzetkanalen, promotie van melk gerelateerde producten).
Een aantal Nederlandse bedrijven uit het consortium is er dankzij dit project al in geslaagd om nieuwe opdrachten te verwerven. Er blijken grote marktkansen te zijn, maar wel onder de voorwaarde dat kleinere melkveebedrijven in India sterkere samenwerkingsverbanden gaan vormen en gaan investeren in meer kwaliteit.
Meer informatie bij de projectleider, lector Rik Eweg van Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences

Family Dairy Tech

Sustainable and affordable stable management systems for family dairy farms in India. An example of Dutch technology that is useful to an ?emerging economy?.

Summary

Problem
The demand for dairy products in India is increasing. Small and medium-sized family farmers want to capitalize on this development and the Indian government wants to support them.
Dutch companies offer knowledge and a wide range of products and services to improve dairy housing systems and better milk quality, in which India is interested. However, the Dutch technology is sophisticated and expensive. For a successful entry into this market, entrepreneurs have to develop affordable and robust (?frugal?) systems and products adapted to the Indian climate and market conditions.
The external question is therefore: ?How can Dutch companies specialised on dairy housing systems adapt their products and offer these on the Indian market to contribute to sustainable and profitable local dairy farming??.

Goal
Since 2011, VHL University of Applied Sciences (VHL) is collaborating with a college and an agricultural information center Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Baramati, Pune district, Maharashtra State India. In this region many small-scale dairy farmers are active. Within this project, KVK wants to support farmers to scale up their farm form one or a few cows up to 15 to 100 cows, with a better milk quality. In this innovative project, VHL and Saxion Universities of Applied Sciences, in collaboration with KVK and several Dutch companies want to develop integrated solutions for the growing number of dairy farms in the State of Maharashtra, India.
The research questions are:
1. "How can, by smart combinations of existing and new technologies, the cow-varieties and milk- and stable-management systems in Baramati, India, for family farmers be optimized in an affordable and sustainable way?"
2. "What are potential markets in India for Dutch companies in the field of stable management and which innovative business models can support entering this market?"

Results
The intended results are:
1. A design of an integral stable management system for small and medium-sized dairy farms in India, composed of modified Dutch technologies.
2. A cattle improvement programme for robust cows that are adapted to the conditions of Maharashtra.
3. An advice to Dutch entrepreneurs how to develop their market position in India for their technologies.
4. An advice to Indian family farmers how they can increase their margins in a sustainable way by employing innovative technologies.