FOUNDATION COURSE IN AGRICULTURE

AND ALLIED SCIENCES

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIRMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE

DEGREE OF

POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN AGRIBUSINESS MANAGEMENT

FIELD VISIT REPORT

CATTLE MARKET, FAIZABAD

BY

PRATHAMESH KUDALKAR ABM14017

Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow

27th August, 2017
1. Introduction

India is the largest producer of milk in the world, with an estimated 86.8 million tons of annual
milk production. The population of cattle that India possesses is largest in the world and is
managed by nearly 70 million farmers. The average annual growth is about 5.6%. The per
capita milk availability is about 214 grams per day as against the recommended requirement
of 250 grams.
"Amul" model- a three tiered cooperative structure has been successful in organising the dairy
sector and marketing milk and other dairy products. About 56% of milk is available as
marketable surplus.

Farmers follow traditional feeding practices for cattle and formulate their own feed by choosing
the ingredients. Seeing the population of cattle, the production is low and this can be attributed
towards the poor genetic makeup. Crossbred varieties form only 10 percent of the total
population. However, great efforts are being put to increase the number and in the coming years
pure bred varieties also could increase.
There is a difference in the percentage of fat content in milk obtained from buffaloes and cows.
For buffalos it is 6 percent while the fat content in milk obtained from cows is about 3.5 percent.
Cattle is fed through grazing mostly. However, to enhance milk production, concentrate feed
containing various feed additives is also being given to cattle.

Although the population of buffaloes is spread across the country, varying in population
density. However, about 72 percent Of the population is concentrated in the north and western
states of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra. This region has
witnessed a 2.1 percent per annum growth rate in species as against the average growth rate of
approximately 1.0 percent in India. Uttar Pradesh tops the list of state with highest buffalo
population followed by Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. However, Haryana tops the list of
growth percent, followed by Gujarat and Rajasthan.

2. Visit

It was a great opportunity to witness the biggest livestock market in the state of Uttar Pradesh
situated on the outskirts of Faizabad, about 2 hours away from Lucknow city. The weekly
trading of cattle happens on each Sunday with a footfall of around 5000 thousand people. This
market with so many humans and animals gathering together cannot be called just another
market. Due to its roots in the rural world, it is hard for any layman to gauge the number and
the total amount of transactions that take place in a day. It is hard to realize the huge potential
lying in the latent demand in the industry. As gathered through the visit, the market sees a
potential boom in the transactions between January to March and between July to September.

The cattle market was established in 2002 by Mohd. Zubair Khan. This is one of the biggest
markets and a regular big event that involves transaction worth crores in a week. It is a big
open ground, where the cattle fair is set up, the market has an expanse of over 28 acres of land.
The ground feels like a mega congregation of the cows and buffaloes with thousands of them
spread out all over. Around 1000-1500 cattle sold each day (Saturday, Sunday). The whole
ground is abuzz with activity. Breeds of buffaloes such as Murrah, Mehsana, Jaffarabadi etc. are
primarily sold in the market. Some traders carrying exotic breeds who come from other states
have made their own sheds which are allowed. Traders polishes and decorate their cattle to
make sure that they look attractive to the buyers. Facilities like silage, feed and veterinary
services are present.

For every purchase that is made a commission of Rs 150 is given as brokerage. This is a fixed
amount and does not increase or decrease irrespective of the amount of transaction.
Additionally, Rs.500 have to be paid for each transactions for the paperwork. The average price
of an animal is around Rs 30-60,000. The maximum price of an animal exceeds one lakh.

There is a medical panel to check the health of animals. Returns of purchases is allowed.
However, the instances are rare and it happens only in the case if the buyer feels that the animal
he has bought is sick and unhealthy or is of inferior quality.

The trade is organised and convened by the local authorities ie is the Panchayat. The trade
happens between buyers and sellers directly and there is no involvement of any other person.
This makes this trade a very fair deal.

There are around 250 labourers involved in managing the livestock and they are on weekly
basis. Out of them, around 30 are permanent employees. The investment required in managing
these livestock is more in terms of money and manpower but the ROI is very less.

One major shortcoming of the market was lack of infrastructure and poor sanitary conditions.
The livestock was not kept in filthy environment which might lead to spread of diseases. These
livestock markets need more infrastructural facilities like feeding, veterinary care, drinking
water, sanitation, shelter and proper maintenance.