**8. Marketing innovations**

E-commerce market places have played revolutionary role in input availability and product sales in dairy sector. Modern equipment and advisory services have been made available at the doorstep to farmers and dairy manufacturers on their smart phones through online Business-to-Business (B2B) market places. Many Business-to-Customers (B2C) platforms have also emerged at a rapid pace. They have major role in picking fresh produce from farms and delivering them to the doorsteps of end users. These marketing innovations have reduced spacial barriers for both producers as well as consumers. Online portals like Indiamart.com, amazon.in, reliance fresh at relianceretail.com are the successful examples of innovative online marketing of various dairy products.

## **9. Factors impeding innovations**

Despite the prevalence of innovations, the scenario for its applicability is very dismal, widening the gap between innovations developed and available; and innovations actually being adopted or used by the end users. Recommended innovations in dairy farming sector have not been adopted as widespread as it is anticipated and the correct level of adoption is far from desired. Though large scale innovative digitalization is happening in dairy sector considering the present need of time, it has yet to reach masses at root level. Factors like low socio-economic status, disrupted electric supply, and unavailability of reliable internet facilities in rural areas might be the cause of poor outreach of the innovations. Adoption is defined as a decision to make full use of an innovation as the best course of action available and the process starts with awareness of the new product and ends with routinized use of the new product by consumer [18]. So for increasing the adoption of innovation, it has to be diffused widely as, diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system.

Demographic, social and economic factors along with adoption behavior of farmers affect application of innovations in dairy sector. Farmer's education, knowledge, attitude, risk orientation, and innovation proneness controls adoption behavior [19, 20]. Constraints faced by the farmers such as lack of awareness, knowledge and skill of application can be considered as the major impeding factors in dairy technology adoption [21–23].

Attributes of innovation, known as characteristics of the innovation, also play influential role on farmers' technology adoption and usage decisions [24]. Five characteristics of innovations *viz.* relative advantage, compatibility, complexity,

divisibility (triability), and communicability (observability) have identified as factors affecting the rate of innovation adoption [25]. Relative complexity and profitability, risk and investment, technicality and reversibility of innovation can also significantly affect its diffusion and adoption. Majority farmers prefer adopting the only practice which needs no investment and technicality.

Low government policy support, insurance complexities and market fluctuations act as major barriers in adoption-decision making process; reducing the interest of young generation in dairy sector. Poor collective actions, low financial policy support and absence of fixed pricing assurance to milk are remained the major constraints and demotivating factors in moving this sector towards sustainability.

## **10. Policy barriers**

Majority of policies and government schemes are suited for medium and large farmers as they are knowledgeable and can invest more in their farms. Small and marginal farmers are resource poor, less knowledgeable, low risk bearer and investor; possessing only 2–3 animals for family sustenance rather than income generating activity. However, their proportion as the dairy stake holders means a lot to the economy when it comes to scarce resources, as it is more than medium and large farmers. Hence the policies should focus more on such group of producers to change their attitude, knowledge and skill for introducing innovativeness among them and for motivating them towards sustainable dairy farming. The resistance against policy reforms in the northern Pakistan has been reported under the Dairy Science Park (DSP) as a conflict of interests among the weaker and power stakeholders across food value chain, and DSP has come up with the idea of the Triple Helix Model of Academia-Industry-Government Nexus of good governance [26].
