Report of the Working Group on Animal Husbandry and Dairying 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17)

Abstract

Livestock have been an integral component of India’s agricultural and rural economy since time immemorial, supplying energy for crop production in terms of draught power and organic manure, and in turn deriving their own energy requirements from crop by products and residues. The advances in bio-chemical and mechanical technologies, however, have weakened the synergy between livestock and crops. Livestock are now more valued as source of food and contribute over one-fourth to the agricultural gross domestic product and engage about 9% of the agricultural labour force. The livestock sector has been growing faster than crop sector; however, in recent years, the growth both in livestock production and productivity has decelerated considerably.