Animal husbandry

Animal husbandry pertains to the upbringing, breeding, and raising of animals for meat, fiber, eggs, milk, and other food products. Animal husbandry is the practice of producing livestock and selective breeding. The livelihood of a vast number of farmers is dependent on this sector. India has an abundance of cattle. The care and production of livestock that is helpful to people, such as buffaloes, cows, pigs, horses, cattle, sheep, camels, poultry, goats, etc. is referred to as animal husbandry. It now includes poultry farms and fisheries under its purview. Our country’s livestock sector increased at an 8.15 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2014-15 to 2019-20. 

Role of Animal husbandry in farmers’ economy:

• A mixed crop-livestock agricultural system with mostly cattle, goats, and fowl is common. The family’s income, food security, transportation, and nutrition are all improved through livestock rearing.
• The world’s largest dairy development program was Operation Flood initiated by Dr. Verghese Kurien. It was a major project of India’s National Dairy Development Board(NDDB), which began on January 13, 1970. It was established in India with the objective of increasing milk output and organizing dairy farmers to enhance their profits through cooperative models since the farmers benefited much from milk production. It aided India’s transformation as the world’s largest milk producer.
• The creation of high-yielding animal breeds is aided through cross-breeding. This boosts the production of milk, eggs, meat, etc.
• Farmers are guaranteed a reasonable price and income from milk, eggs, and meat supply to urban markets under the government’s scheme. Between 1960 and 2002, milk output increased considerably. Many states have formed cooperatives to ensure that farmers receive a fair price and a consistent income for supplying milk to urban markets.
• Sheep, for example, are efficient grass-to-meat and wool converters. Also wool and other products are gaining traction as significant diversification industries.

In FY 2015-16, the gross value of output from this industry was 8,123 billion rupees. Many small and marginal farmers found dairy farming to be a valuable source of additional income and employment. India now possesses the world’s largest dairy herd (cows and buffaloes), with over 304 million animals, and is the world’s leading milk producer, with 112.5 million tons produced in 2009–2010.

Diversification is the process of transferring an economy’s income sources away from a single source and toward an increasing number of sectors and marketplaces. It has historically been used as a tactic to promote positive economic growth and development. Diversification into other activities is vital because it would provide people in communities with long-term livelihood options and also provide ecological equilibrium. Diversification adds to the exchange of experiences and possibilities in the creation and distribution of economic resilience metrics, techniques, and instruments.

Due to the unfavorable climate of India, farmers suffer crop losses every year, so their dependence on agriculture is reduced in recent days, in this situation, these diversifications provide a boost to self-employment and the new generation’s export capacities. Animal husbandry, fisheries, and horticulture also provide alternate sources of income as well as a reduction in traditional agriculture’s over-dependence.