Needs and challenges
The dairy sector in Nepal is facing many important ecological, social, and economical issues. One of the main concerns is the decreasing quality of food sources and increasing cost of production (FAO, United Nations, 2010).
Health and production of dairy cows depends on the farmers’ knowledge of animal nutrition (Redding, Chetri, Kumar, Chay, Aldinger, Ferguson, 2012). However, in Nepal, feed protocols are inconsistent throughout the year, and as Figure 6. indicates, dairy cows are greatly affected by diseases, as a result of this issue. During the monsoon period, there is as sufficient amount of forages and pasture, but during the remaining of the year, especially in the winter, feed is a scarce resource and farmers use more concentrate than forages (Durbar, 2015) (Hayashi, Thapa, Sharma, Sapkota, Kumagai, 2009). Their production is limited because of purchased concentrates and by-products, which represent 65 to 70% of the production cost (Durbar, 2015).
Another challenge Nepalese farmers face is the modernization of agricultural practices (Joshi, Conroy, Witcombe, 2012). Because of their low incomes, it is difficult to acquire modern technologies, which would allow them to increase their cows’ milk production.
The soil quality of the land where crops and pastures are cultivated affects the nutrients contained in forages, and hence is directly linked to milk production (Redding, Chetri, Lamichhane, Chay, Aldinger, Ferguson, 2012). Improving soil fertility by using manure could therefore improve the efficiency of the Nepalese farming systems (Durbar, 2015).
75% of dairy products sold in Nepal are imported due to a lack of supply (Redding, Chetri, Lamichhane, Chay, Aldinger, Ferguson, 2012). Dairy farmers need to become more efficient in order to compete with imported products and answer to their country’s demand. Doing so would possibly represent lower cost of milk products for Nepalese citizens, who have a low income and have very little to spend on fresh products of quality.
Nepalese children have an alarmingly low literacy rate. This is in part due to weeding practices, which, all done manually, require children and women to spend many hours in the fields, when they could instead be in school, being educated (FAO/IFAD, 1997).
Health and production of dairy cows depends on the farmers’ knowledge of animal nutrition (Redding, Chetri, Kumar, Chay, Aldinger, Ferguson, 2012). However, in Nepal, feed protocols are inconsistent throughout the year, and as Figure 6. indicates, dairy cows are greatly affected by diseases, as a result of this issue. During the monsoon period, there is as sufficient amount of forages and pasture, but during the remaining of the year, especially in the winter, feed is a scarce resource and farmers use more concentrate than forages (Durbar, 2015) (Hayashi, Thapa, Sharma, Sapkota, Kumagai, 2009). Their production is limited because of purchased concentrates and by-products, which represent 65 to 70% of the production cost (Durbar, 2015).
Another challenge Nepalese farmers face is the modernization of agricultural practices (Joshi, Conroy, Witcombe, 2012). Because of their low incomes, it is difficult to acquire modern technologies, which would allow them to increase their cows’ milk production.
The soil quality of the land where crops and pastures are cultivated affects the nutrients contained in forages, and hence is directly linked to milk production (Redding, Chetri, Lamichhane, Chay, Aldinger, Ferguson, 2012). Improving soil fertility by using manure could therefore improve the efficiency of the Nepalese farming systems (Durbar, 2015).
75% of dairy products sold in Nepal are imported due to a lack of supply (Redding, Chetri, Lamichhane, Chay, Aldinger, Ferguson, 2012). Dairy farmers need to become more efficient in order to compete with imported products and answer to their country’s demand. Doing so would possibly represent lower cost of milk products for Nepalese citizens, who have a low income and have very little to spend on fresh products of quality.
Nepalese children have an alarmingly low literacy rate. This is in part due to weeding practices, which, all done manually, require children and women to spend many hours in the fields, when they could instead be in school, being educated (FAO/IFAD, 1997).
Benefits to Nepal
Exportation of probiotics and barley sprout fodder would solve the needs and challenges addressed in the previous section.
Nutra-Fix’s Fermentation Supplement for Livestock is a probiotic feed supplement of quality that can help reduce health issues and diseases linked to inconsistent food supply and nutrients.
The barley sprout fodder wheel offers a forage of quality all year long, which can be used alongside forages during the monsoon period, or as a main source of feed during the rest of the year, instead of relying on concentrates. This can be seen as an investment, where the money is put towards a long lasting solution, the fodder, rather than on large quantities of concentrates that are somewhat inconsistent, unreliable, and affect milk production. Through this investment, the fodder is also a step towards the modernization of farming practices.
If cows are able to access the barley sprout fodder wheel, they could possibly feed directly from it. This would mean that they would all gather in one area, and manure could easily be collected and then used as a fertilizer to improve soil composition.
The use of probiotics and barley sprout fodder represents an increased milk production with the use of fewer resources, improving the milk production efficiency of Nepalese farmers. This will make the Nepalese dairy products more competitive and affordable for low-income consumers of Nepal.
By adapting crops and using a barley sprout fodder wheel, the amount of time spent weeding can be decreased. Hence, children and women can allocate their time differently, for instance towards learning to read rather than weeding.
Nutra-Fix’s Fermentation Supplement for Livestock is a probiotic feed supplement of quality that can help reduce health issues and diseases linked to inconsistent food supply and nutrients.
The barley sprout fodder wheel offers a forage of quality all year long, which can be used alongside forages during the monsoon period, or as a main source of feed during the rest of the year, instead of relying on concentrates. This can be seen as an investment, where the money is put towards a long lasting solution, the fodder, rather than on large quantities of concentrates that are somewhat inconsistent, unreliable, and affect milk production. Through this investment, the fodder is also a step towards the modernization of farming practices.
If cows are able to access the barley sprout fodder wheel, they could possibly feed directly from it. This would mean that they would all gather in one area, and manure could easily be collected and then used as a fertilizer to improve soil composition.
The use of probiotics and barley sprout fodder represents an increased milk production with the use of fewer resources, improving the milk production efficiency of Nepalese farmers. This will make the Nepalese dairy products more competitive and affordable for low-income consumers of Nepal.
By adapting crops and using a barley sprout fodder wheel, the amount of time spent weeding can be decreased. Hence, children and women can allocate their time differently, for instance towards learning to read rather than weeding.
Transportation
The products will first be shipped from Chesterville to the Port of Montreal. A1 FreightForwarding will then ship the products through ocean fright, from Montreal port to New Delhi, India for ~ $750 per shipment (50 bags of probiotics or 1 fodder wheel)(A1 FreightForwarding, n.d.). It will then have to be transported from New Delhi to Kathmandu to be distributed to Nepalese customers, which A1 FreightForwarding also takes care of.
The probiotics bags would be rather easy to transport to the Nepalese communities, as they can easily be loaded onto trucks or such vehicles and can be loaded and unloaded by a single individual. The fodder would however require more logistics and would take a longer time to reach the communities, as the items listed previously are larger, heavier or more sensitive to environmental conditions. Nonetheless, this would however be a long-term solution to increasing the health of cows and production of Nepalese farms, hence justifying the amount that will need to be spent and the time it will take to complete the project. By making this a two phase project, the probiotics can be made available to Nepalese farmers immediately, while the logistics for shipping the fodder wheel are finalized.
The probiotics bags would be rather easy to transport to the Nepalese communities, as they can easily be loaded onto trucks or such vehicles and can be loaded and unloaded by a single individual. The fodder would however require more logistics and would take a longer time to reach the communities, as the items listed previously are larger, heavier or more sensitive to environmental conditions. Nonetheless, this would however be a long-term solution to increasing the health of cows and production of Nepalese farms, hence justifying the amount that will need to be spent and the time it will take to complete the project. By making this a two phase project, the probiotics can be made available to Nepalese farmers immediately, while the logistics for shipping the fodder wheel are finalized.
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Marketing
In order to make the export of the probiotics and barley sprout fodder wheel affordable to Nepalese farmers and maximize their use, they should be marketed to the Central Dairy Co-operative Nepal (CDCAN), which englobes many small dairy cooperatives. These cooperatives were established for many reasons, including but not limited to increasing milk production, and processing and marketing the milk of the member farmers (FAO, United Nations, 2010). By marketing the products to local dairy cooperatives, all their members can contribute to covering the fees and in return they can share the products of the fodder and its benefits.
The project should be executed in collaboration with Ceci and Samarath, two similar organizations that already work with dairy cooperatives. Ceci is a not-for-profit organization aiming to reduce world poverty in developing countries, and one of their current project is working with dairy cooperatives in rural Nepalese communities (Ceci, n.d.). Samarth is a Nepal based organization, and they are focused towards reducing poverty in rural sectors (Samarth, n.d.). Among their current interventions in the dairy subdivision, they are working towards improving the access to forage and the production of milk (Samarth, n.d.).
The project should be executed in collaboration with Ceci and Samarath, two similar organizations that already work with dairy cooperatives. Ceci is a not-for-profit organization aiming to reduce world poverty in developing countries, and one of their current project is working with dairy cooperatives in rural Nepalese communities (Ceci, n.d.). Samarth is a Nepal based organization, and they are focused towards reducing poverty in rural sectors (Samarth, n.d.). Among their current interventions in the dairy subdivision, they are working towards improving the access to forage and the production of milk (Samarth, n.d.).