Woman Knocks Down 50 Lakhs Out of Milking
She decided to paddle her own canoe to set up a dairy farming business. While making a headway in the male dominated field, today, she has achieved what merely remains a dream for the rest. And she stands an inspiration to the women who certainly knows to pull out all the stops to get her milk business on the top.
Sajjanben Patel is a milk producer from Dhakha village located in Dhanera town of Banaskantha district. And she grosses an annual income of Rs. 50-60 lakhs out of dairy farming. Sajjanben (45) is neither a renowned business bigwig nor a high-level official, but an ordinary cattle keeper who supplies 400 liters of milk every day at the local dairy society while making half a crore yearly.
She belongs to the topmost group of cattle keepers of Asia’s largest dairy Banaskantha. Sajjanben owns over 100 milch animals at her dairy farm. As she belongs to the Marwadi Patel caste, she cannot move out of her home due to several restrictions imposed by the caste on women. But she regularly helps her husband in farming. However, owing to the support from dairy as well as her own determination, she included more milch animals at her farm.
Earlier, she used to own 2-4 animals, but after earning good returns from milking she emphasized on cattle keeping. Prior to owning a dairy farm, Sajjanben’s family lived on the earnings generated through crop farming. Gradually, their lifestyle improved as their income from milking increased.
She has been conferred various accolades and medals from Banas dairy and the government, which has brought pride to her and her family.
Sajjanben’s husband Sendhabhai says that she manages and takes care of the cattle on her own. She wakes up early in the morning, feeds the cattle with nutritional fodder and takes the animals for grazing in a farmland. Now, the entire family has shifted on to dairy farming due to a surge in the profits. They implement modern milking machines to milk their cattle.
Nagabhai, the secretary of milk society, said, “Dhakha village has achieved fame across entire Banaskantha due to Sajjanben. A lot of people visit the village to learn about her the cattle keeping occupation that she has developed over these years. The villagers too feel proud of her accomplishments.” “Sajjanben has also formed a women dairy cooperative society by involving the woman of her society. Dhaka village cooperative society has found a prominent place due to the continued efforts of Sajjanben.” Says Nagabhai while signing off.
