When more means less: Assessing the impact of dairy 'development' on the lives and health of women in rural Rajasthan (India)

Following upon the proclaimed success of cooperative dairy schemes in other parts of India (Operation Flood based on the Amul model), the Rajasthan government is attempting a similar scheme. A key theme of the project is to bring women into the mainstream of dairy development in order to improve their economic, nutritional, and social status. For this purpose a special program was initiated to train poor rural women in 'dairy camps' on how to care for their milch animals. Successful completion of such 'camp' training then qualifies the woman for a loan to buy an animal in her name. It is hoped that a part of the milk obtained will go to the village dairy cooperative. The major aims of this program are to: remove milch animals from the cities; encourage production of more milk for the cooperative dairies; encourage modern techniques of animal care; put control of the income from milk-selling in the hands of the women who care for the animals by permitting them to own the animals and hence contribute to their 'independence' and 'development;' and to encourage self-sufficiency for the weaker sections by providing loans to the poor. Data for this paper were collected during fieldwork in a village in Alwar District, Rajasthan and specifically from observation and participation in the two-week dairy 'camp' there. Eighteen women were selected on poverty criteria to participate in the program. The general situation of these women is analyzed within the context of a critical discussion of the dairy movement in India, in general, and the intended effects on the lives of the village women, in particular, with special attention to the impact on their workload, nutritional intake and, ultimately, overall health. Concluding remarks are addressed to the broad issues of government development programs and why more of the same type of development strategies persist in the face of often-repeated failures.