Animal husbandry

1. Scope and importance in the rural economy

Animal husbandry includes cattle and buffalo rearing, sheep and goat husbandry, piggery, poultry and the management of animals such as camels, yaks and equines. Dairy farming is only one component. Livestock supply food, manure, hides, fibres, transport and agricultural power. Poultry provides eggs and meat but is enumerated separately from livestock in India's livestock censuses.

Crop–livestock integration is central to Indian agriculture. Crop residues become animal feed, while dung supplies manure and biogas. Livestock can convert grasses and agricultural by-products that humans cannot directly consume into nutrient-rich food. However, low-quality residues alone cannot meet the nutritional needs of high-yielding animals.

Livestock provide relatively frequent cash receipts, unlike the seasonal returns from many crops. They support smallholders, landless households and women, who perform substantial feeding, cleaning and milking work. Animals also function as household assets during emergencies. Their protective role has limits: drought simultaneously reduces fodder and water availability, increases maintenance costs and can force distress sales.

• Mixed farming combines crop cultivation and livestock rearing within a farm system.
• Pastoralism relies substantially on grazing resources; transhumance involves seasonal movement between grazing areas.
• Livestock numbers, total output and productivity per animal are different indicators and should not be treated as interchangeable.

2. Geographical distribution and important breeds

Livestock distribution reflects climate, terrain, feed availability, water, cultural preferences and access to markets. Cattle have a wide distribution. Buffalo husbandry is especially important in the northern plains and western India, where irrigated agriculture provides fodder and crop residues. Buffaloes require effective cooling in hot weather because of their relatively poor sweating capacity.

Sheep are prominent in the dry and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan, the Deccan plateau and Himalayan grazing systems. Goats occur widely and browse shrubs and tree foliage, making them useful in diversified smallholder systems. Their adaptability does not imply that they can sustain productivity without adequate feed or water. Pig rearing is important in several northeastern states, where local food preferences support demand.

Poultry has both commercial and backyard forms. Commercial production clusters near feed supplies, hatcheries, veterinary services and urban markets; Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana are important centres. Backyard poultry provides supplementary household income and nutrition. Yak husbandry is adapted to the cold, high-altitude Himalaya, while camels are associated particularly with arid western India.

Indigenous cattle such as Gir, Sahiwal and Red Sindhi are recognised dairy breeds. Kankrej and Tharparkar have traditionally served dual purposes. Exotic breeds such as Holstein Friesian and Jersey are used in crossbreeding programmes. Higher genetic milk potential must be matched by feed, healthcare and climatic suitability; indiscriminate crossbreeding can undermine locally adapted genetic resources.

• Murrah buffalo: Haryana; Jaffarabadi buffalo: Saurashtra, Gujarat.
• Gir cattle: Gujarat; Ongole cattle: Andhra Pradesh; Vechur cattle: Kerala.
• Changthangi goats of Ladakh produce fine pashmina undercoat; Angora goats produce mohair, not pashmina.

3. Production systems, feeding and breeding

Extensive systems depend mainly on grazing over relatively large areas, whereas intensive systems rely more on purchased or cultivated feed, housing and controlled management. Semi-intensive systems combine grazing with supplementary feeding. Commercial poultry is commonly intensive, while many pastoral sheep and goat systems are extensive. No system is automatically sustainable: outcomes depend on stocking pressure, feed sourcing, waste management and animal welfare.

Ruminants, including cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats, use microbial fermentation to digest fibrous plant material. Poultry and pigs are non-ruminants and generally require more nutrient-dense feed. Roughages include grasses, hay and crop residues; concentrates include cereal grains, bran and oilseed cakes. Balanced feeding supplies energy, protein, minerals, vitamins and water according to maintenance and production needs.

Hay is fodder preserved mainly by drying. Silage is moist forage preserved through fermentation under oxygen-limited conditions, commonly using maize or sorghum. Berseem and lucerne are important leguminous fodders. Fodder banks, pasture restoration and residue enrichment can reduce seasonal shortages.

Artificial insemination facilitates the use of selected breeding males and can accelerate genetic improvement. Sex-sorted semen increases the probability of offspring of the desired sex but does not guarantee it. Breeding programmes require reliable animal identification, pedigree and performance records, fertility management and conservation of indigenous breeds.

• Broilers are poultry raised primarily for meat; layers are maintained primarily for egg production.
• Clean milk production requires healthy animals, clean udders and equipment, safe water and prompt cooling.
• A cooperative or producer-owned dairy network can aggregate small quantities and provide feed, veterinary care and market access.

4. Animal health, environment and One Health

Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals. It causes substantial production losses and is not the same as human hand, foot and mouth disease. Brucellosis is a bacterial zoonosis associated with reproductive losses; humans may acquire infection through infected animal material or unpasteurised dairy products. Peste des petits ruminants is a viral disease primarily affecting sheep and goats.

Avian influenza affects birds and some strains can infect humans. Lumpy skin disease is a viral disease mainly of cattle, spread chiefly through blood-feeding arthropods. Disease control combines vaccination where appropriate, surveillance, quarantine, movement controls and farm biosecurity. Antibiotics do not treat viral infections, and their misuse contributes to antimicrobial resistance.

The One Health approach recognises links among human, animal and environmental health. Veterinary surveillance, safe food handling, pasteurisation and responsible antimicrobial use are therefore public-health measures as well as livestock interventions. Environmental concerns include enteric methane, manure emissions, water pollution and degradation of overstocked commons. Improved feeding, animal health, manure composting and biogas can reduce impacts, although lower emissions per unit of milk do not necessarily mean lower total emissions.

• Heat stress reduces feed intake, fertility and milk yield; shade, ventilation, drinking water and suitable cooling are important adaptations.
• Seasonal grazing can use landscapes unsuitable for crops, but sustainable stocking levels and access to grazing routes remain essential.

5. Institutions, programmes and policy priorities

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, handles major Union-level livestock programmes. The National Dairy Development Board supports dairy development, while ICAR institutions undertake livestock research. The ICAR–National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources at Karnal is important for documenting and registering breeds.

Rashtriya Gokul Mission, launched in 2014, focuses on bovine genetic improvement and indigenous breed development and conservation. The restructured National Livestock Mission supports entrepreneurship in rural poultry, sheep, goats and pigs, alongside feed and fodder development. The Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund supports eligible infrastructure such as dairy processing, meat processing and animal feed plants.

The National Animal Disease Control Programme was launched in 2019 to control foot-and-mouth disease and brucellosis through vaccination. Kisan Credit Card facilities were extended to animal husbandry and fisheries for working-capital needs. Effective development additionally requires accessible veterinary services, reliable breeding inputs, livestock insurance, producer organisations, cold chains and protection of common grazing resources.

• The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 provides the central legal framework against cruelty.
• The Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act, 2009 provides for animal disease prevention and control.
• Policy should prioritise productivity, health and farmer returns rather than merely increasing animal numbers.

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