Establishing community fodder banks through public-private partnership: An action-oriented approach

Community fodder banks have been advocated as one of the promising solutions to minimize fodder scarcity in India. Unfortunately, the popularization of such extension activities has remained woefully weak across the country and very few initiatives have been undertaken in this regard. An action-oriented participatory approach was initiated in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh to establish community fodder banks. The approach involved convergence among CSK Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University, Palampur; Himmothan Society, Palampur; NABARD, Shimla; local Panchayati Raj institutions and ICAR-IVRI, Palampur. The women dairy farmers were mobilized into self-help groups. Awareness meetings followed by site selection, cleaning of the area, land preparation, plantation, fencing and periodical visits were conducted. Four community fodder banks were established in waste and unused common lands, and 669.53 quintals of green fodder was harvested at established fodder banks in 1 year period (July2020-August 2021). The cost of setting up fodder banks in the convergence approach ranged from `1.03 lakhs to `2.05 lakhs. The transformation of wasteland into fodder plots through project intervention has improved fodder availability in the region and will expand livestock-based livelihoods. The public-private partnership mode helped to bring convergence in activities of the project implementing organizations through sharing of work, strengths and knowledge exchange.