Harnessing the Potential of Livestock in Mixed Farming Systems in India

The most dominant form of livestock production in India relates to mixed crop livestock system. Pressure on agricultural land forces cultivators to maintain livestock for manure purposes, consume the meat or egg to meet the need for dietary protein and of course to ensure a little milk for the children and the aged. Smaller the farm size, greater is the need to keep a given fleet of livestock so that real income reaches a moderate figure. Productivity of farm livestock in regard to both meat and milk in India happens to be below the world average. Inadequate provision of fodder and lack of good grazing lands are the most important factors holding up productivity growth. Crop residues from cereals and pulses like rice bran or wheat bran serve as good cattle feed but they have more lucrative uses epitomized in bran scams. The paper argues in favour of technological change in fodder and introduction of cultivated grazing lands.