Livestock farming in India Upsc

One source of income for the farmer helps a lot during crop failure. It contributes 4% of GDP.

India contributes 11.6 % of livestock in the world, which is number one.

i.Cattle

Cattle constitute 37.3 percent of the livestock population in India. India has second-largest cattle population after Brazil.

Madhya Pradesh tops with 10.3 % followed by Uttar Pradesh (10.2 %) and West Bengal (8.7 %). Cattle population includes 1) Milch Breed, 2) Draught breed and 3) Mixed or General breed.

ii.Goats

Called a poor men’s cow, it provides milk, meat, skin, and hair. By the number of goats, Rajasthan is first with 16% followed by Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

iii. Buffaloes

A vital source of milk in-country and UP has 28% of countries buffaloes followed by Rajasthan (9.6%) and Andhra Pradesh(7.9%).

Livestock Census

The livestock census was first conducted in the title of Dairy Cattle Census. The 19th Livestock census was conducted in 2012 October, it is conducted every 5 years.

Department of Animal Husbandry at the state level and Regional Joint Director at District level under the guidelines of Government of India Ministry of Agriculture and farmers welfare, Department of Animal Husbandry Dairying and Fisheries conducts the census.

Started in 1919 – 1920, conducted every 5 years.

As of now, a total of 19 Livestock census has been conducted.

Dairy, Meat and Wool Production

As per Animal Husbandry Department, during 2016-17, the total milk production is 163.7 million tons.

a.Dairy

Uttar Pradesh with 27.6 million tonnes (16.8%) was leading, followed by Rajasthan with 19.4 million tonnes (11.8 %) and Madhya Pradesh with 13.4 million tonnes (8.2 %).

b. Meat

The total meat production of the country is 7.4 million tonnes.

UP is leading with 1.3 million tonnes (18.2%), Maharashtra (11.4%), and West Bengal(18.2%) produces 0.8 million tonnes.

c. Wool

43.5 million KG of wool produced as per 2016-17 report. Rajasthan leads 14.3 million KG (32.9%) followed by Jammu and Kashmir(16.7) with 7.3 Million Kilogram and Karnataka(15.1%) with 6.6 Million Kilograms.

Fisheries

One of the important economic activities in the country. It employs over 14 Million People. India produces 3% of the world’s fish, standing second after China.

It gives good foreign exchange, employment to the nation. India has a coastline of 7517 Km and the mainland’s length is 6100 km. In India fishing is of two types:

Marine or Sea Fisheries:

India has a continental shelf up to the depth of 200 m. It includes coastal, off-shore, and deep-sea fishing. Kerala’s top fish production in India.

Inland or Fresh Water Fisheries:

Fishing in freshwaters such as lakes, canals, ponds, tanks, etc. About 50% of the country’s fish comes from inland fishing.

Andhra is the leading inland fish producer in India. Important fish varieties of India are Herrings, Mackerel, Cat Fish, Perches, Eels, Mullets, etc.

Total Inland fish production 65.77 Lakh tons in 2014-15. In India, the top five fish-producing states are Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.