Water Buffalo Farming In India

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Water Buffalo Farming In India

There's a lot of water buffalo farming in India, but not a lot of organized effort to make it more productive. We're not talking about super-high-tech here. A few improved varieties, some better feed, and a little help with breeding and animal health would go a long way. And the payoff is huge. The farmers who raise the water buffalo are among the poorest people in one of the poorest countries on earth.

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I know this because I met a guy who was trying to do something about it. His name is Karl Meyer; he has a Ph.D. in physiological chemistry from Stanford, and now runs a small NGO called VetVance that is trying to help make life better for rural Indian farmers.

Karl's thinking is simple: if you make life slightly better for poor people, they will be able to make life somewhat better for themselves. But before they can do that, someone has to give them a chance.

Water buffalo farming in many areas of India provides a unique opportunity for the small farmer to improve his standard of living.

The following are some of the benefits which have been realized by the farmers who used this system:

1.  The farmer has been able to diversify his crop production and raise additional crops without increasing his labor force.

2.  The water buffalo provides a source of power during critical times of the year when other sources are not available or too costly. For example, rice is sown between May 15 and July 15, depending on elevation and rainfall in the districts. This is when all other sources of power are not available due to shortage of feed for cattle and horses. Water buffaloes can be used with advantage at this time as they do not require fodder but only need green grass which is plentiful at that time of year.

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