Project profile — Increasing Women's Participation in the Dairy Sector in Southern Punjab

The project expects to achieve the following three intermediate outcomes: 1. Functional and sustainable Farmers Milk Cooperatives that provide equitable economic benefits to women and men livestock farmers; 2. Increased income and decision-making for women livestock farmers; and 3. An improved pro-poor and gender sensitive regulatory and policy framework for the dairy sector in southern Punjab.

Results achieved as of end of the project (November 2018) include: (1) the average income of women and men cooperative members increased by 76% and 91% respectively; (2) women enjoyed increased decision-making power in their households and increased control over their assets; (3) gender stereotypes were challenged, and acceptance of women as members of the executive bodies of the cooperatives was established; (4) more than 12,000 farmers (of which 65% were women) were trained on improved breeding, milk handling and quality testing, and production and marketing of milk-based products such as sweets; (5) the percentage of women trainees with knowledge of improved livestock breeding increased from 2% to 63%, and men trainees from 2% to 74%; the percentage of women with knowledge of milk handling increased from 0.8% to 97%, and men’s from 0.7% to 97%; the percentage of women with knowledge of fodder techniques increased from 0.4% to 56%, and men’s increased from 0.4% to 58%; (6) 6,875 farmers (of which 87% were women) were trained on nutrition with 83% of the women trainees and 90% of the men trainees succeeding in being able to identify nutrition-related principles, this is up from 46% in 2016; (7) 33 women started their own enterprises; (8) 87 Village Veterinary Workers (VVWs) (52% of which were women) were trained on identifying diseases, and providing advice on the better breeding practices of livestock, all the women VVWs registered with the government department mandated to provide advisory services on livestock breeding; and (9) productive assets (30 model barns, 250 water troughs, 50 feed mixers and 278 buffaloes) were distributed among 680 women farmers.