Livestock Services and the Poor: A global initiative - IFAD

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LIVESTOCK SERVICES AND THE POOR
harass them (Mukherjee, Jahan and Akhter, 2002). The reasons for
dropping out are not well understood, and appropriate strategies
for reaching the poorest groups have yet to be thoroughly analysed.
Bank loans through membership in producer organizations
In some cases, well-established producer organizations with solid
assets, such as buildings and processing equipment, can provide
collateral to members and help them obtain loans from banks for
livestock investments. A typical example is the dairy cooperatives
that supply loans to small-scale farmers who are members and
who use the loans to invest in dairy cows or buffaloes.
This possibility emphasizes the strength of producer
organizations in securing services that would otherwise have been
inaccessible to small-scale producers. But the success of such an
approach depends on the true ownership of the organization, the
influence of the producers and the transparency of the loan
programmes. Too often, cooperatives are not really in the hands of
the producers, and the loans resemble directed credit. One
unsuccessful example is described in the study in Orissa (Box 3.16),
where a group of households in a women’s dairy cooperative
society received loans to purchase buffaloes for milking.
The example demonstrates in a number of ways the effect of
violations of the principles outlined at the beginning of this section.
People could only choose cross-bred cows or buffaloes. They
chose buffaloes because they felt it would be difficult to
maintain cross-bred cows.
Group management was imposed on the members.
The women’s dairy cooperative society was a mere formality.
The women were not involved in the management of the
dairy unit.
The feeding and grazing of the animals were serious
problems. In some cases, children had to drop out of school
to graze the buffaloes.
Management advisory services were very sparse. The fact
that nine of the 18 calves born from the first lot of buffaloes
died speaks of the poor level of the services.