Livestock Sector in India
Kartavya Desk Staff
Syllabus: Agriculture
Source: IE
Context: The broiler chicken industry in India has become highly organized and vertically integrated through several key developments
Developments Include:
• Vertical Integration: The industry has established a streamlined supply chain where major players control production from breeding and hatching to processing and distribution. This integration reduces costs and improves efficiency.
• Backward Integration: A company acquires or merges with suppliers or producers of raw materials. Example: A chicken producer buys a feed mill.
• Forward Integration: A company acquires or merges with distributors or retailers. Example: A chicken producer opens its own retail outlets or distribution centres.
• Modern Infrastructure: Investments in advanced infrastructure, such as large-scale farms, processing units, and cold storage facilities, have enhanced production capacity and product quality.
• Professional Management: The industry has adopted professional management practices, including stringent quality control and modern marketing strategies, to boost productivity and ensure consistent supply.
• Economic Scale: Large companies benefit from economies of scale, allowing them to lower costs and offer competitive prices, making chicken more accessible to consumers.
• Regulatory Compliance: Adherence to regulatory standards and improved animal welfare practices have increased consumer confidence and industry credibility.
About Livestock:
The livestock sector involves the breeding and raising of animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry for meat, dairy, wool, and other products. It is a major part of agriculture, providing food, employment, and income.
Contribution of Livestock to the Indian Economy:
From 2014-15 to 2020-21, the livestock sector grew at a 7.9% CAGR and increased its share of total agricultural GVA from 24.3% to 30.1%. Livestock supports rural employment, provides food, serves as insurance during crop failures, and reflects social status. Dairy, the largest agri commodity, contributes 5% to the national economy and directly employs 80 million farmers.
Livestock 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 employs about 8.8 % of the population in India. India has vast livestock resources.
Role of livestock in the Social transformation of households in India
Role of Livestock in Social Transformation | Economic Transformation
Food Security: Provides meat, milk, and eggs; | Income: Contributes to small farm household income.
Additional Income: Produces wool, and hides; leather has high export potential. | Source of Income/Employment: Key for landless and small farmers; support during lean seasons.
Women Empowerment: Improves nutrition and income; empowers women. | Bridging Gender Gap: 75% of livestock farmers are women, 90% in Punjab and Haryana.
Children’s Health: Enhances cognitive development and school performance. | Boosting Agricultural Yield: Manure used as natural fertilizer, helps in weed control.
Clean Energy: Biogas and biomass from waste replace fossil fuels. | Resilience to Climate Shocks: Provides buffer income during crop failures.
Social Security: Animals enhance social status; better for landless families. | Stimulate Entrepreneurship: Government support promotes rural entrepreneurship and value addition.
Draft Power: Bullocks are crucial for ploughing, carting, and transport. |
Challenges existed in the livestock sector:
• Productivity: Low milk yield; half of the global average.
• Diseases: Frequent outbreaks of infectious diseases.
• Greenhouse Gases: Livestock accounts for 63.4% of agricultural sector emissions.
• Inadequate Credit Facilities: Limited financial support compared to its GDP contribution.
• Inadequate Infrastructure: Poor slaughtering facilities; many unregistered.
• Lack of Knowledge: Insufficient knowledge of rearing practices.
• Marketing Issues: Unorganised market and poor input-output market function.
• Insurance: Only 6% of livestock are insured; limited extension services.
Government Schemes Related to the Livestock Sector:
• Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF): Offers 3% interest subvention and 25% credit guarantee for borrowers.
• National Livestock Mission (NLM): Focuses on improving breeds, entrepreneurship, and feed/fodder development.
• Livestock Health and Disease Control (LH&DC) Scheme: Supports state efforts in controlling animal diseases through vaccination.
• National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP): Aims to control Foot & Mouth Disease and Brucellosis with comprehensive vaccination.
• Rashtriya Gokul Mission: Promotes breed improvement and conservation of indigenous cattle.
Conclusion:
The government should integrate existing schemes like the National Livestock Mission with others to support smallholders. Emphasis on R&D will boost productivity. Bringing medical services to farmers and ensuring financial sustainability will reduce livestock mortality. Financial support for purchasing animals, building community institutions, and enhancing skills and knowledge about animal rearing is crucial. Promoting livestock insurance in rural areas is also needed.
Mains Link:
Livestock rearing has a big potential for providing non-farm employment and income in rural areas. Discuss suggesting suitable measures to promote this sector in India. (UPSC 2015)
Prelims Link:
Which of the following is the chief characteristic of ‘mixed farming’? (UPSC 2012)
(a) Cultivation of both cash crops and food crops (b) Cultivation of two or more crops in the same field (c) Rearing of animals and cultivation of crops together (d) None of the above
Ans: (c)