Shopian's star dairy farmer Asiya sells 90-100 lt milk per day

Story by  Ehsan Fazili | Posted by  Aasha Khosa • 2 Years ago
Asiya Bashir at her dairy form (Source J&K Government)
Asiya Bashir at her dairy form (Source J&K Government)

 

Ehsan Fazili/Shopian

Being from a farming family, Asiya Bashir always had a dream of becoming an entrepreneur and supporting her family financially, and helping it prosper as a unit. Asiya of village Chiraath, Shopian, South Kashmir the local Department of Animal Husbandry became a source of handholding to help her set up a dairy farm under the Integrated Dairy Development Scheme (IDDS).
 
After two years, Asiya, a graduate, today has 12 cows, half of them milk-producing. She is selling 90 to 100 liters of milk per day to Jammu and Kashmir Milk Producers Cooperative Limited. 
 
Her dairy has become viable so fast and she credits the officials of the Animal Husbandry department for their sincere advice and help in making it happen. She said the local department has always been providing her various special feed and fodder, veterinary services, training, etc, to keep her business growing.
 
The Department has also provided her bucket-type automatic milking machine, Milk Cooler and Genset. Asiya says all these types of equipment have helped her expand her dairy farming at a large commercial scale.
 
Asiya is very keen to adopt newer technologies for growing the milk production at her dairy farm; her strategy is to minimize her inputs and maximize the production. Due to her experience, she considers dairying as the best solution to the growing unemployment in Kashmir.
 
Asiya has been a source of inspiration for local youth as they have seen how she has increased the income and the living standards of her family.
 
Asiya enjoys the support of her family in running her dairy business.