Introduce National (Small) Livestock Development Act & Policies

Protect & Promote Income Multipliers in Rural Area

National (Small) Livestock Development Act and Policy is MUST

By

Vijay Sardana 

To ensure sustainable income for Small and Landless Farmers

Livestock products like wool, hide, meat, bones, etc. are major sources of income for many and meat is a highly preferred food in most of the societies. Large number of food, cosmetic, fashion, pharmaceuticals, health, chemical and many other industries derive their raw material from livestock industry. 

70% of Indian enjoy non-vegetarian diet. With incomes rise, consumers' meat purchases usually will increase quite rapidly in proportion to their total food purchase. 

Accordingly, a combination of increasing population and rising personal incomes has caused the demand for meat to grow rapidly both in absolute terms and in relation to the demand for most other agricultural products world over.

In spite of the huge reservoir of these animals, productivity of small animals like goats and sheep in respect to meat, milk and fibre (wool) is low due to lack or poor livestock service delivery system resulting in indiscriminate breeding, insufficient feeding, several disease problems, etc. 

India has a very large and diverse genetic resource small animals like goats & sheep. Presently there are about 124 million goats and 62 million sheep in the country providing 2760 million kg of milk, 714 m kg of meat, 52 m kg and 186 m kg of fresh skins annually.

On the other end, there is tremendous demand for small animals like Sheep and Goat meat in the world market, but now there is stagnation in supply. It is because of lack of availability of small animals like sheep and goat meat. On the other hand, wool and leather industry is also looking for good quality goat and sheep wool and leather for high value products.

Keeping all these opportunities in mind, the livestock industry and the Department of Animal Husbandry should provide thrust to this vital sector through Public-Private sector by encouraging initiatives between various institutions working in the field of small animals like goat and sheep.

Ground Reality:

Sheep and goats are generally kept by people belonging to the disadvantaged section of the society. Development of this sector however provides tremendous scope to reduce poverty among these disadvantaged communities. The best art is these are no religious restriction in small animals like we have seen in cows and pigs.

Need for Policy Environment for Small Animals like Sheep and Goat:

The biggest reason hampering the development of livestock sector mainly small animals like sheep and Goat sector is the lack of clarity in the various aspects of policy throughout the supply chain.

Some of the important issues required to be addressed by various stakeholders for the development of livestock sector are:

Introduce National Livestock Development Policy with focus on Small Animals.

Following should be the major component of National livestock Development Policy.

1.     A National Livestock Strategy and Action Plan for livestock sector should be developed.

2.     Some states use the term obnoxious industry for this sector and don't encourage and allow industry to set-up base in their territory.

3.     A National Agency – “National (Small) Livestock Development Board” – in line with National Dairy Development Board to promote integrated value chain is required. The existing The National Meat and Poultry Processing Board mandate is too compartmentalized and restrictive in nature. It does not address the issues faced by the stakeholders in supply chain.

4.     National Livestock Development Board should promote District or region wise programme implementation body with the members of cooperative / breeder society / SHGs / producer companies, should be set up for the monitoring the development activities in line with cooperative movement.

Major Activities for the New Livestock Development Board should be:

5.     Database of Livestock industry to ensure availability of good quality meat, feed, fodder, health care etc. Traceability records with respect to breeds, farms and quality assurance should be made.

6.     Investment Policy for Sheep and Goat sector needs clarity to attract investment in this sector. It should be treated at par with agriculture and no activity related to sheep and goat rearing should be taxed. Only value added products beyond Rs. 500 per kg can be considered for taxation.

7.     Veterinary Clinics in line with Agri-clinic should be promoted.

8.     Policy for Sustainable Fodder Development and Management on Waste Lands as Common Property Resources (CPRs) for livestock rearing should be developed.

9.     Producers’ organizations like SHGs Breeders’ Associations and Livestock Cooperatives for goat, sheep, pig, etc., who are willing to develop CPRs for scientific fodder production and pasture development for small ruminants, should be given priority.

10.  Interstate movement of animals through state borders is a gray area.  National Policy on Inter-state Quarantine should be promoted to ensure health status of migratory population of livestock from one state to state in search of feed and fodder.

11.  National Livestock Transportation Policy is required to ensure interstate movement of animals without any harassment on highways by various authorities, NGOs and their field staff.

12.  Innovative Credit; Insurance Policy and Financial support at low rate of interest for the sheep and goat farmers should be given to increase production.

13.  Promotion of strong farmers’ organization / rears organization (Producer Company / Livestock Cooperative / federation of SHGs) may be recognized and accepted as a key for incentives delivery system for small animals rearing.

14.  Traceability of these livestock cooperatives must be mandatory. All members must be registered with Aadhar Card and their animal population must be notified every month.

15.  Local Veterinary Hospital must verify the animal count to ensure disease status of the animals every month. This will help in early warning systems like Swine Flu, etc.

16.  Establishment of Guidelines for PPP models including efficient market linkages through PPP should be explored for the benefit of small holders. Meat & Poultry Processing Board must place their demand six months in advance to their Livestock development Board so that smooth supply chains can be developed.

17.  Development of Sheep and Goats sector has tremendous poverty reduction potential and PPP should aim at inclusive development of this sector under various food security and rural development schemes.

18.  Policies should be developed by active participation of all stakeholders, whereby recognizing the interests of small and large entrepreneurs, the Female Sheep and Goat farmers, the NGOs dedicated for livestock development and working in the field of Natural Resource Management.

19.  Genetic Materials and Suitable Breeds are a critical component of the small animal like sheep and goats sector. There is less availability of the good genetic material for breeding and multiplication of the animals for the quality meat production and there is a lack of breeds, which can adjust to the regional climatic conditions and needs. Research on Genetics and Breeding Priorities for small animals should get due attention.

20.  Feed and Fodder Farms should be developed on PP models. 

These small livestock can bring major change in rural economy at low capital investments. 

It is high time to look at this sector for sustainable rural development, to ensure income for small and landless farmers and to check migration to the cities. 

To know more about potential,  click here: http://sardanavijay.blogspot.in/2013/06/any-time-money-atm-or-cash-options-for.html

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