LIVESTOCK IN RAINFED AGRICULTURE: STATUS AND PERSPECTIVE POLICY PAPER

Abstract

Livestock is an integral component of rain fed farming systems, Rain fed agriculture being risk prone, possession of livestock both large and small ruminants, often acts as a cushion and liquidity for the farmers. In fact, rain fed agriculture supports more than 60% of the livestock population (CRIDA 2007). The country has vast resources of livestock, which play a vital role in improving socio-economic conditions of the rural masses and their food and nutrition security. With the advent of operation flood program and consequent white revolution, dairy development got great fillip. This movement to a large extent was encouraged by the promotion of dairy cooperatives through operation flood programmes, These developments promoted marketing of milk and livestock breeding through introduction of high yielding exotic cattle germ plasm and grading up of non-desccript buffaloes with indigenous superior breeds and provision of better health services, Initially, the resource rich regions took advantage of the policy and market environment for enhancing the production. Subsequently, rainfed regions also caught up with the trend. These development efforts were mostly confined to the large ruminants, i.e., cattle and buffaloes, while the small ruminants did not get the benefit of such development.