Strengthening Rural Dairy Value Chains through Capacity Building, Women-Led Livestock Services and Organized Milk Marketing: A Pilot Initiative in Raisen, Madhya Pradesh

Abstract

This case study documents an implemented pilot initiative of the Madhya Pradesh State Rural Livelihoods Mission (MPSRLM) in Sanchi Block of Raisen District, Madhya Pradesh, covering Jamuniya, Ninod and Kayampur villages. A baseline assessment identified a substantial milk production base together with low price realization, dependence on private vendors, weak market connectivity, limited livestock services and inadequate collection infrastructure. The intervention subsequently integrated community-level capacity building, training and deployment of local women as Pashu Sakhis, scientific livestock-management programmes, institutional linkage with Bhagyauday Mahila Kisaan Producer Company Limited, and establishment of a Milk Pooling Point (MPP). By the end of 2025, organized milk procurement had been operationalized through the MPP and the procurement price available to participating producers had increased from approximately ₹39/L under the earlier vendor-based system to ₹55/L, representing a 41.03% improvement in price realization per litre. The initiative demonstrates how women-led institutions, decentralized livestock services, producer-oriented market linkages and village-level milk aggregation can be combined to strengthen rural dairy value chains. The next infrastructure phase envisages installation of a Bulk Milk Cooler (BMC) to support timely chilling, milk-quality preservation and expansion of organized procurement. As a descriptive implementation case study without a control group, the study documents achieved institutional and marketing outcomes while recognizing the need for longer-term monitoring of household income, milk quality and livelihood effects.