Bajali's woman dairy farmer to take part in Republic Day parade

Patacharkuchi, 8 Jan: A woman along with her husband from Bhojkuchiapara village, situated at a remote area in the north-eastern part of Bajali district in Assam is going to take part in the ensuing Republic Day parade in New Delhi as a successful dairy farmer.

She, along with her spouse, secured a place in the 36-member state team for excellent performance in the field of dairy farming to take part in the prestigious parade.

The couple has been identified as Juna Tamuli Barman and Pranab Kumar Barman.

The poverty-stricken family began their journey in the dairy sector in 2004 with a single cow and now they upgraded their living style with good financial position. After Artificial Insemination (IA) for cross-breed under 'swarnadhenu' scheme, the number of cows were increasing due to hard labour, utmost care, especially by Juna.

Dr. Hitesh Pathak, Veterinary Doctor, was the man behind the successful cross-breeding. He guided the couple in expanding the farm with the process of artificial insemination method for better results. Pathak said that there are a number of families in Bajali district who were once struggling for livelihood and now enjoying a happy life with good earnings from dairy farming. Most of them started the journey from zero.

The village, approximately 12 kms east of Patacharkuchi, is not a well-known place, however, Juna Tamuli Barman, a woman of the village has done wonders with dairy farming in this village and proved that hard work will always yield a fruitful result.

Their hut is now replaced by an RCC building and they are an owner of four wheelers. Now, some of the neighboring families are also following the path of Juna Tamuli to strengthen their economical condition and live a joyful life with good earning. So people popularly says it as onset of white revolution here.

It is a matter of praise that their cows produce approximately 210 litres of milk per day at present. She alone milks the cow and her husband supports her to sell the milk among locals and supply to Himalaya Dugdha Utpadak Samabay Samiti situated at Nityananda around 7 kms from home.

“We are receiving full support from veterinary department but our cost of production of milk is increasing due to the increase in price of fodders. But in return we get Rs 50 per litre by selling to the locals and in society, Rs. 40 to 42 per litre depending upon HCF.” said Pranab.

Dairy farming is flourishing in Bajali subdivision, resulting in a record production of milk, which has augmented the incomes of the people and also solved the burning unemployment problem to a considerable extent in the area. Its impact is also spreading outside the subdivision. It may be mentioned that several thousand litres of milk is being produced daily by the farmers, who besides fulfilling the local needs, sell a major portion of the milk to Purabi Dairy, Guwahati.

Even though her husband helps her, most of the work, including looking after the cows, milking, supplying fodder etc. is done by Juna. The industrious woman keeps her cows in a very neat and hygienic state. When this correspondent visited her workplace, she was busy feeding her cows and cleaning the cowshed. Dr Hitesh Pathak has been helping her besides other staff from the beginning of her journey. The family has cultivated grass in four bighas of land for the production of cow fodder.

Juna and her husband Pranab Barman informed that in future they were planning to produce milk products and expand the farm.

Juna was awarded for her excellent work by the former Governor of Assam, JB Patnaik in 2013, she got Mukhyamantri Prerna Award in 2018 as best woman dairy farmer of the state, best dairy farmer award in the national livestock show in 2019, an excellence certificate from WAMUL in 2015, Dalmia young achievers award in 2021 besides lots of local and departmental awards.