Exploring the multifaceted role of women in dairy enterprise

The present study aimed to examine the role of women in dairy enterprises in rural areas of Pune district, Maharashtra, focusing on their socio-economic profile, level of involvement in dairy activities, data were collected from 150 dairy women across Baramati and Indapur tehsils through a structured interview schedule using purposive and random sampling techniques. Dairy women played an active and consistent role in essential dairy operations including care of pregnant animals, feeding, milking, cleaning, housing maintenance and basic healthcare activities like vaccination and deworming. They also engaged in value addition through the preparation of curd and ghee, and in the production of dung-based items like manure and dung cakes. However, they had minimal to no involvement in grazing, sale of farmyard manure, production of specific dairy items (lassi, paneer, ice cream), urine-based products or dung-based products like gobar gas and vermiwash.