The Livestock Industry is an important source of foreign exchange too and is performing well in the manner of production, value addition, and export of dairy, fishery, wool, poultry, and other products. These sectors also play a significant role in supplementing family incomes and generating gainful employment in the rural sector, particularly, among the landless laborers, small and marginal farmers, and women, besides providing cheap nutritional food to millions of people. Livestock is the best insurance against the disasters of nature like drought, famine, and other natural calamities.
Animal husbandry is the second-largest economic activity in rural India. In Arid and semi-arid regions, the Livestock Industry ranks first in earnings to skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled populations. Animal husbandry is a growth engine and the annual growth rate in dairying is 5% and in poultry, it is 10% and will alleviate rural poverty and uplift rural farmers. If the country has to sustain itself economically, the Livestock Industry has to be strengthened. The availability of per capita animal protein in the country is 10.8g whereas the requirement as per the world average is 25g.
Livestock Industry
The Livestock Industry is an important source of foreign exchange too and is performing well in the manner of production, value addition, and export of dairy, fishery, wool, poultry, and other products. These sectors also play a significant role in supplementing family incomes and generating gainful employment in the rural sector, particularly, among the landless laborers, small and marginal farmers, and women, besides providing cheap nutritional food to millions of people. Livestock is the best insurance against the disasters of nature like drought, famine, and other natural calamities.
Livestock Industry – Economic Aspect
Livestock plays an important role in the Indian economy. About 20.5 million people depend upon livestock for their livelihood. The livestock industry contributed 16% to the income of small farm households as against an average of 14% for all rural households. Livestock provides livelihood to two-thirds of the rural community. It also provides employment to about 8.8% of the population in India. India has vast livestock resources. India is
- First in the total buffalo population in the world.
- Second in the population of cattle and goats.
- Third in the population of sheep (72 million).
- Fifth in the population of ducks and chickens.
- Tenth in camel population in the world.
Humans depend upon animals for food and associated by-products, work, and a variety of other uses. Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries sectors greatly contribute to the national economy and the socioeconomic development of the country. These sectors also support enhancing family incomes and generating profitable occupations in the rural sector, mainly, among the landless laborers, small and marginal farmers, and women, besides providing cheap nutritional food to millions of people.
| Commodity | Food |
| Dairy | Fluid and dried milk, butter, cheese, curd, ice cream |
| Cattle, Buffalo, Sheep | Meat, edible tallow |
| Poultry | Meat, Eggs, Duck eggs |
| Pig | Meat |
| Fish | Meat |
| Horse | Meat, blood, milk |
| Micro-livestock | Meat |
Poverty and Livestock Management
The livestock industry supports 25% of gross value added in the agriculture sector. It provides self-employment to millions of people. The fast growth of this sector can be even more democratic and comprehensive than the growth of the crop sector because those engaged in it are mainly smallholders and the landless. Livestock products comprised 32% of the total value of agriculture and allied activities in 2014-15.
From equity and livelihood standpoints, livestock rearing must be central to the poverty-lessening programs. It has been seen that livestock provide essential food products, draught power, manure, employment, household income, and export income. Thus, when assessing inclusive growth, it should be considered that from equity and livelihood perspectives, livestock rearing is significant in poverty alleviation programs.
FAO on Livestock Industry in India
A global analysis of the livestock industry by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) was done recently and it showed that there are three overarching messages with reference to India:
1. Food Security and Poverty Reduction
First, although livestock products make important contributions to food security and poverty reduction for many low-income rural families, the policy and institutional framework in many countries have been unsuccessful to serve the needs of these poorest households and include them in development.
2. Natural Resource Degradation
Second, livestock producers, including traditional pastoralists and smallholders, are both victims of natural resource degradation and contributors to it. Remedial action most likely lies in a mix of public goods related to environmental protection, and ecosystem services and through incentives for private investment to improve animal productivity, particularly in remote regions.
3. Human Health Risks
Third, animal health services not only combat animal diseases that cause mortality and reduce animal productivity, they also shield human health because of the risk of animal-to-human disease. transmission. Animal health systems have been ignored in various sections of the world and this has led to institutional flaws that in turn, lead to poor delivery of animal health services and higher risks to livelihoods and human health.
National Livestock Mission
The National Livestock Mission (NLM) was started in 2014-15 to cover all the activities required to ensure quantitative and qualitative improvement in livestock production systems and capacity building of all stakeholders. The Mission targets the improvement of livestock productivity and supports projects and initiatives required for that purpose subject.
Various departmental poultry farms will be strengthened in a phased manner. The chicks of low input technology type are being produced at the departmental hatcheries. These chicks are reared for 2-3 weeks at different government poultry farms/ extension centers prior to their distribution in the field. In case, there is demand for day-old chicks, then the same is also provided to the farmers.
The Central Poultry Development Organization, Govt. of India, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Animal Husbandry Dairying and Fisheries, is serving as a single window to meet all the technical requirements of the poultry farmers of the northern region of India and working for the development of the poultry in India.
Now it has been renamed as Chandigarh Rangeen (CHABRO) from the year 2007 as one of the Low input birds identified and found suitable for rural Poultry. Rural Development through poultry farming is one of the modern as well as multidimensional activities that divide income generation employment opportunities and expert potential etc. The government of India gives special emphasis on rural poultry because rural poultry is pro-poor and pro-women in nature and is also a special tool for women’s empowerment.
Indian livestock industry makes up a significant amount of the world’s livestock resources. Both the national economy as well as socio-economic growth of the country is backed by the livestock sector. Besides offering great potential and outstanding contribution to the agricultural sector over the past years, the livestock industry is performing well in the manner of production, value addition, and export of dairy, fishery, wool, poultry, and other products. Apart from its performance, there are some threats like social taboos, unorganized livestock markets, etc. But we need to correct it and take the global market opportunities.