Empowering Tribal Women Through Dairy-Based Livelihoods in Gujarat

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Project Details

Category: Governance (Women Development) – Rural Livelihoods
Project Title: Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana (MSY)
Department or District: Gujarat Tribal Development Corporation (GTDC)
State: Gujarat
Start Date of the Project: 1st April 2007
Website: https://adijatinigam.gujarat.gov.in/

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Tribe(s) that the Project Covers: The programme targets tribal women from 14 tribal project areas across Gujarat including Valsad, Dangs, Vansda, Narmada, Bharuch, Tapi, Mandvi, Chhota Udaipur, Panchmahal, Dahod, Mahisagar, Modasa, Sabarkantha, and Banaskantha districts.

Keywords: Tribal Women, Dairy Livelihood, Economic Empowerment

The Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana (MSY), launched by the Gujarat Tribal Development Corporation in April 2007, is a pioneering livelihood programme aimed at empowering tribal women through self-employment in the dairy sector. Built on the foundation of community structures and financial inclusion, the project addresses systemic barriers that have historically excluded tribal women from income-generating opportunities. By institutionalising cow-based dairy enterprises and facilitating market linkages through cooperative structures, the programme seeks to transform the economic role of tribal women in Gujarat’s rural landscape.

The Project

MSY operates on a structured loan-subsidy model that equips tribal women with milk-yielding cows and embeds them within cooperative networks. Each beneficiary receives ₹20,000 as a loan from GTDC and ₹34,000 as a state subsidy. Membership in local milk societies is a precondition, ensuring formalised market access for milk sale and income. These societies are nested within taluka and district-level cooperatives, creating an organised chain of production and procurement. The repayment model is structured over five years in monthly installments, routed through the cooperative societies, which manage milk collection and payment disbursement directly.

Problems that it Intends to Solve

Before MSY, tribal women had negligible access to structured livelihood opportunities. Annual household income for many tribal families remained below ₹1,20,000, rendering them vulnerable to poverty cycles. Traditional employment schemes were either seasonal or lacked continuity. Financial exclusion was pervasive, and tribal women rarely accessed institutional credit. The gap between skill and employment further widened due to the absence of culturally aligned, scalable models of self-employment. MSY addressed these interlocking issues with a focused, practical model centred on cattle-based income.

What was the Need

There was a critical need to design an intervention that combined economic feasibility with cultural relevance. Dairy farming aligned well with rural tribal lifestyles and did not require significant shifts in daily routines. Women already played informal roles in livestock care, which could be formalised into a livelihood. The programme’s design was responsive to the structural absence of accessible finance, formal training, and dependable markets in tribal areas.

What Hindered its Introduction

Several systemic and community-level limitations hindered the project’s introduction. Pre-existing schemes targeting tribal welfare were fragmented, lacked a centralised mechanism for oversight, and failed to generate trust among the communities. There were few incentives for long-term adherence, and participation rates were low. Women in these areas were also sceptical of government programmes due to past inconsistencies, and many lacked the documentation required to access formal entitlements. The absence of operational cooperative structures in remote areas delayed mobilisation and required time-consuming groundwork.

Process Followed for Implementation

GTDC rolled out MSY by leveraging Gujarat’s cooperative dairy infrastructure. Beneficiaries were identified through village-level milk societies, which became the conduit for both financial transactions and milk marketing. These societies were linked to taluka and district-level cooperatives for cow procurement, veterinary services, and payments. Funds were routed via dual bank accounts to maintain transparency. Digital dashboards at the district level tracked milk volumes, repayments, and subsidy flow. Community meetings and monitoring visits ensured that democratic norms and compliance were maintained throughout.

• Government
  • The Gujarat Tribal Development Corporation served as the nodal agency, disbursing loans, overseeing repayments, and ensuring the proper use of subsidies. It also supported the functioning of milk societies and coordinated with cooperative unions at various levels to ensure accountability and service delivery. Periodic reviews were conducted to improve coverage, address gaps, and encourage repeat participation by successful beneficiaries.
• Involvement of Community
  • Community engagement formed the backbone of MSY’s implementation. Women had to register with local milk societies, which operated with participatory processes for beneficiary selection and payment verification. Community involvement helped build a culture of accountability, improved loan repayment rates, and ensured that the intervention was tailored to local needs. The sense of ownership also encouraged wider uptake and intergenerational participation.

Solutions Implemented

The project’s most effective solution was the combination of low-interest credit and capital subsidy to facilitate livestock ownership among women. Institutional partnerships through milk societies ensured procurement, veterinary care, and access to structured markets. Digital tracking allowed real-time visibility into production and financial flows. The model removed barriers of entry by requiring no formal education or training and offered an immediately monetisable output in the form of milk.

Details of the Coverage of the implementation

Over 1.5 lakh tribal women have benefited from the scheme across 14 tribal project areas in Gujarat. Each year, around 12,000 to 15,000 new beneficiaries are inducted. The programme has had ripple effects on over 1.5 lakh households, with milk sold to cooperative networks across the state and linked to the Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation.

Innovation and Unique Features

MSY’s innovation lies in its focused approach—targeting women, leveraging dairy as a familiar livelihood, and embedding the process in existing cooperative systems. The integration of transparent financial systems, democratic cooperative governance, and the use of digital dashboards for real-time monitoring make it unique. The ease of adoption and built-in accountability systems distinguish it from past tribal welfare schemes.

New Approaches: Tech integration, capacity building, culturally sensitive methods

District-level software systems track the flow of milk, repayments, and subsidy utilisation. By rooting the intervention in livestock—a role traditionally performed by women—the scheme ensures cultural acceptability. Minimal literacy is required, making it inclusive for women across a range of educational backgrounds.

Co-creation: How tribal knowledge or leadership shaped the solution

The solution was built on an intimate understanding of tribal household dynamics. Local knowledge around livestock care and informal milk trading was institutionalised through cooperative structures. Women contributed to the design and evolution of repayment systems and participated actively in society governance, giving the project grassroots legitimacy.

Based on ongoing reviews, the programme began allowing repeat participation for high-performing beneficiaries, enabling women to purchase a second cow after successful repayment. Several milk societies were restructured or replaced for non-compliance, and accountability mechanisms were strengthened through software-based monitoring and direct feedback from district-level cooperative heads.

Challenges Faced Before Implementation

• Internal Challenges
  • GTDC’s pre-MSY initiatives lacked unified structure and monitoring. Fragmented records, absence of tracking platforms, and inconsistent disbursement slowed administrative readiness. Designing a transparent system that could prevent fund misuse while ensuring accessibility required significant re-engineering of operational processes. Creating a fiscal model that blended loans and subsidies without creating dependency was another complex task.
• External Challenges
  • Externally, tribal communities were hesitant to engage due to low confidence in state schemes. Many women lacked identification or income records, complicating beneficiary selection. In several villages, cooperative infrastructure was either defunct or poorly managed. Building new societies or reforming existing ones took time and negotiation. Past failures made mobilisation sensitive, and some areas resisted early participation.
• Mitigation Efforts
  • A phased rollout helped test models before scale-up. Milk societies were used as trusted intermediaries to bridge government and community relations. The dual-account system added financial transparency. Coordinated outreach and administrative consistency helped shift community perceptions gradually.

Challenges Faced During Implementation

Coordinating across a multilayered cooperative system required continuous training and compliance enforcement. Monitoring repayments from thousands of women over five years placed pressure on administrative teams. Societies sometimes delayed disbursements or failed to enforce rules. Quality control in cow procurement also posed hurdles.

Irregular milk prices, cattle health issues, and performance inconsistency of some milk societies affected programme outcomes. In a few areas, societies were found to be poorly governed or mismanaged, leading to missed payments and low morale. Some women struggled with cow maintenance due to temporary migration or illness.

Non-performing societies were delisted. District reviews were intensified and field audits increased. GTDC responded with greater supervision, inclusion of performance-based incentives, and streamlined dispute resolution mechanisms. Successful cases were showcased in village meetings to build momentum and reinforce trust.

Outcomes

• The programme has directly impacted 1.5 lakh tribal women. Monthly household incomes increased by ₹3,000–₹5,000. Recovery rates remained strong, with over 70% repaying loans on time and 75% of them reinvesting in a second round.
• MSY elevated tribal women’s role in household decision-making. It enhanced financial independence, embedded women into formal economic systems, and instilled dignity and leadership within local communities.
• GTDC employs digital dashboards, cooperative reports, and beneficiary feedback to evaluate progress. Monthly procurement data and repayment records are reviewed at the district level. Non-compliant entities are flagged and corrective measures initiated swiftly.
• The primary beneficiaries are tribal women across 14 tribal districts in Gujarat. Secondary beneficiaries include their families and members of local milk cooperatives.

Replicability / Scalability / Sustainability

MSY is integrated with the state’s tribal welfare policy and contributes directly to national rural development goals. It complements larger frameworks like the Rashtriya Gokul Mission and the National Livestock Mission.

The hybrid model is self-correcting. Loan repayments are recycled, and repeat investments by beneficiaries indicate long-term economic viability. Reduced dependency on grants supports sustainability.

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