Institute of Rural Management Anand

PGDM-RM42 – Term I – End Term Examination

RLS
22/10/2021
TOM DAVID K J, Roll Number: P42165

DESIGNING PIGGERY BASED LIVELIHOOD INTERVENTION IN

DHEMAJI AND LAKHIMPUR DISTRICTS OF ASSAM

1. Stage I: UNDERSTANDING INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CONTEXTS:

COOLIE'S FRAMEWORK

Step 1: Understanding the Internal Context:

People’s Livelihood:
Livelihood Portfolio - The economy of Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts are generally Agro-based.
They also practice sericulture, piggery, poultry and fishing in small scales.
Livelihood Capabilities – The people in both district are majorly (30-50%) from socially backward
castes (SC and ST) and the average literacy rate (72-77%) is also low. They have also not explored
the potential capabilities for livelihoods.
Livelihood Shocks and Vulnerabilities – The districts are frequently affected by floods, sand
depositions, land slides and large-scale erosions by the flowing rivers. All these lead to low
agricultural productivity. Animal based livelihoods are affected by frequent spread of diseases among
the livestock.
Livelihood Strategies – Farming is mainly carried out to meet their own day to day food needs. The
majority of the total working force (40-48%), the major part (25-35%) work for more than 183 days
in an year (main workers). Dhemahji district has more main cultivators than Lakhimpur.

Organizational competence (NHPC):

Mission – The firm is committed to the process of nation building and inclusive
development of people in the vicinity of their projects.
Strategy – NHPC has to implement a better livelihood system through participatory approach by
consulting with specialists in the field
Capacity – NHPC is a financially strong firm. They have the financial and technical capacities to
carry forward the intervention.

Step 2: Understanding the External Context

Factor – the area has enough land, water, fodder, human resources and supportive climates for
piggery.
Demand – There is a rising demand for pork and pork-based food products in various north-eastern
parts of the country and also internationally.
Industry – The piggery industry is moving to a boom in country. Increase in veterinary supports
and inculcation of high productive breeds will add to this boom.
Institution – NHPC together with government and IRMA are backing up the project financially
and technically.

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 Institute of Rural Management Anand
PGDM-RM42 – Term I – End Term Examination
RLS
22/10/2021
TOM DAVID K J, Roll Number: P42165

2. THE OVERALL APPROACH OF DESIGNING COLLECTIVE ENTERPRISE IN

PIGGY SECTOR
A collective enterprise is the most effective intervention in these conditions. A piggery-based co-
operative can be initiated. The initiation of co-operative will need enough seed fund, human
resource, infrastructure development and extension activities. Convincing the famers to form a
co-operative is also an enormous task. Co-operative should be formed by the farmers voluntarily
with adequate external support. Membership can be provided according to their herd size and
ability to supply produce. It should also have a proper elected governing system
The co-operative can be established with 3 levels of operation:
Producer: The producer (farmers) takes care of the pigs. They should be supplied with technical
knowledge about pig farming and seed fund to set up the infrastructure and buying the cattle.
Crossing breeding practise should be initiated to increase the productivity of indigenous breed.
Collection centre: Collection centres should be established at accessible points. The butchering,
weighing, cleaning activities can be carried out here. Local sales, distribution of incentives
according to the weight of cattle etc can be carried out here.
Processing and marketing unit: the meat after proper cleaning should be transported to the
processing and marketing unit. Where the value addition, packaging, branding and marketing
takes place.
3. MAPPING OF THE EXISTING VALUE CHAIN IN PIGGERY SECTOR
The current piggery value chain is highly inefficient and non-standardised. Piggery is mainly carried
out at individual small-scale levels in scattered area. There is no collective approach in production
and marketing. There is no complex value addition involved.

Small Scale HH
Producation

Personal
Local Sale
Consumption

Piggery is carried out individually and majorly sold locally and used for personal consumption.
Improper marketing and small-scale production have to be seen into. Proper collective approach,
breeding stations and other institutional support like veterinary support, technology transfer etc are
required to improve the chain.The sale and marketing is limited to nearby areas.

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 Institute of Rural Management Anand
PGDM-RM42 – Term I – End Term Examination
RLS
22/10/2021
TOM DAVID K J, Roll Number: P42165

4. PROPOSED VALUE ADDITION TO ENSURE CREATING PRO-PRODUCER

VALUE CHAIN
Value addition is required to improve the conditions in the piggery industry in the districts. “Pro-
Producer” is a fundamental concept for existence and continuation of cooperatives.

production
Aggregation
transportation Increasing the place value
Simple VA
processing Increasing the form value
Complex VA
storage Increasing the time value

marketing Increasing the place value

Value addition includes three levels:

• Aggregation, purchase and pooling at the basic level
• Simple Value Addition – includes cleaning, grading of the meat, packing, transport and
storage.
• Complex Value Addition – This includes Simple and complex processing. To produce various
products like hams, sausage, bacons etc.

Simple and Complex value addition will be carried out at the processing units. Whereas as
Aggregation, purchase and pooling will be carried out at producer and collection centre level.

Value addition can be extended to all the by-products of the industry too. The skin can be used as a
good source of leather, fat can be used in candle and soap industry, hair can be used to make high
quality brushes etc.

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 Institute of Rural Management Anand
PGDM-RM42 – Term I – End Term Examination
RLS
22/10/2021
TOM DAVID K J, Roll Number: P42165

5. MARKETING THE IDENTIFIED VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTS

Even though, piggery is usually entitled to food and food products, it can be extended to various
other markets. Almost all the parts meat, fat, skin, hair etc. have particular uses. Meat and fat are the
major products from piggery.
Positioning the brand name should be the first marketing strategy. Adequate advertising by
highlighting the core principles of a cooperative will add to this. Various social media and online
platforms can be explored. Since the products have a higher shelf life compared to selling it as raw
will help in reaching farther places. The packaging can be made of biodegradable yet efficient
material to inculcate marketable community values. It can also have the name of the farmers who
produced it which will add to the authenticity of the product.
The by-products can also be marketed efficiently. The pork fat obtained can be sold to large scale
soap or candle manufacturers on contract. Government support and tenders may be used to get these
contracts. Skin can also be sold on contract with other co-operative leather manufacturing units or
governmental bodies into this business on a regular basis.

6. Designing vibrant livelihood promotion organisations for ensuring sustainable

organizational life cycles so that NHPC could withdraw after successful interventions
For the intervention to be successful the formed organization should sustainable even after the
withdrawal of the NHPC supports. In order to make the organization sustainable the members should
have a belonginess towards the organization. This can be only possible by having a structured
member owned organization like a co-operative. The organization should have a proper hierarchy.
The organization w ill be owned and run by its members.
Membership:
Membership should be given voluntarily with fixed conditions. Like, he/she should be holding a
minimum herd size of 20 pigs. He/she should be able to supply continuously to the society. etc
Governing Body:
It should have a proper governance system. This governing body should be an elected body
constituted by its own members. The body should have representations from all the categories like
caste and sex. It should have provisions to occupy proportional numbers of women.
Accounting:
A proper accounting system should be followed with transparency. Accounting books like day book,
journals, cash book etc should be regularly audited. The society can hire wards of their own members,
if possible, into these activities.
Operations:
Operations of the society including the processing should be standardised and licensed. Members and
their family should get a priority in working in the operations. Proper training and qualifications
should be inculcated among these workers.
Financial Services:
A part of the profit organization should be kept aside to meet other needs of the members and future
development of the organization. Which will include health insurance of the members, subsidies for
feed to the cattle, education expenses of the wards, marriage and funeral expenses of the members
and their family etc. They should also look into future expansion of the plant, improving the

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 Institute of Rural Management Anand
PGDM-RM42 – Term I – End Term Examination
RLS
22/10/2021
TOM DAVID K J, Roll Number: P42165

machineries, exploring markets etc. They can also provide loans and various investment plans to their
members
Incentives and bonus:
Organization can provide special subsidies of feed, bonuses during high profit etc. they can also
inculcate festival-based bonuses and open markets.
Extension and Institutional Supports:
The organization should develop provisions to give technical supports. For this the organization can
set up proper veterinary services, breeding stations, training centres etc.
All these activities will lead to inter-dependency of the organization and the member. This will there
by result in sustainability of the firm.

7. COMPETENCE BUILDING STRATEGY OF THE PEOPLE TO BE INVOLVED IN

THE PROPOSED VALUE CHAIN
Competence building is required to improve the capabilities of the people to be involved in this
proposed value chain.
The people in both districts are majorly (30-50%) from socially backward castes (SC and ST)
Therefore, they need to be morally and emotionally boosted. Confidence building is a major step
towards this. They should be brought to the open world in front of them. Secondly, the average
literacy rate (72-77%) is also low. Proper education on handling of accounts and memberships, bye-
laws of the cooperative has to be given.
Even though, some of them carry-on small-scale piggery business there is a huge gap for
development. Proper extension activities on this sector, trainings on activities related to large scale
piggery, breeding practises, value of their produce etc. has to be done. Preliminary knowledge on
cattle diseases and first aids on accidents should be taught in order to effectively meet the
emergencies. They should also have the knowledge on zoonotic diseases and steps to be taken on a
zoonotic disease outbreak. Cost-minimizing steps should also be taught efficiently.
8. How could the proposed intervention reduce the major vulnerability of local inhabitants
and ways to ensure climate resilient livelihood intervention?
One of the major vulnerabilities in the area is infertile soil due to huge soil depositions after floods.
Piggery do not require fertile soil except for growing fodder. Fodder to an extent can be substituted
by day-to-day food waste. The excreta from the piggery can be used as a manure and there by increase
the fertility of the soil. Increased production will increase the income and provide an alternative
livelihood. Piggery is very less vulnerable to external climatic conditions. Meat produced will
increase meat consumption in the households and thereby provide proper nutrition to the members.
This intervention will also increase the power within the backward communities.

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