Karnataka techie quits job to start donkey farm; gets orders worth ₹17 lakh for milk

A software engineer has quit his job to start a donkey farm in Karnataka. A first of its kind in the state, the farm was opened recently in Dakshina Kannada district.

Srinivasa Gowda, 42, is the owner of the donkey farm which is located in Parladka village in Ira gram panchayat, 37 km from Mangaluru. He comes from a family of farmers in Kanakapura of Ramanagar district.

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According to reports, this is only the third donkey farm in India after the ones in Ernakulam district in Kerala and in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli.

Gowda said he was moved by the plight of donkeys which were often “spurned and undervalued”. A BA graduate, he first started Isiri farms, an integrated agriculture and animal husbandry, veterinary services, training and fodder development centre on a 2.3-acre plot in Ira in 2020 after quitting his job in a software company, a PTI report said.

Starting with goat breeding, the farm already has rabbits and Kadaknath chicken. The donkey farm will have 20 donkeys to start with, Gowda said. He added that the number of donkey species is dwindling as they are no longer used by dhobis (washermen) with the advent of laundry machines and other technology to wash linen.

Gowda said several people were apprehensive and made fun of him when the idea of a donkey farm was shared with them. “The donkey’s milk is delicious, very expensive and has medicinal value,” he said.

He is planning to supply donkey’s milk in packets to people. A 30ml of milk packet will cost ₹150 and it will be supplied through malls, shops and supermarkets, he said.

He also plans to sell donkey’s milk to be used for beauty products. Orders worth ₹17 lakh have already been received, according to him.

“Donkey’s milk fetches ₹5,000 to ₹7,000 per litre, urine ₹500 to ₹600 per litre and donkey dung (as organic manure) ₹600 to ₹700 per kg. I will set up a bottling unit and sell donkey’s milk in 30, 60, 100 and 200 ml bottles… I will also serve donkey milk to guests,” he was quoted as saying in a Deccan Herald report.

Gowda decided to set up a dairy, inspired by Dr. R N Sreenivas Gowda, former chairman of the National Research Centre on Equines and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. After years of research, Srinivas found donkey breeds from Gujarat (Halari) and Andhra Pradesh as ideal for his farm spread over 2.5 acres, the report said.

“I started the donkey farm here with 20 donkeys… Significant care is the key in donkey farming. I get seven to eight litres of milk per day from 12 female donkeys (each female donkey yields less than half a litre of milk). The drove of donkeys also includes seven calves and a male. Apart from conservation, Srinivas intends to provide free training to youth in donkey farming and make them self-employed,” Gowda said.

(With inputs from agencies)