CONTEXT

• Livestock breeding in India has been largely unorganised because of which there have been gaps in forward and backward integration across the value chain.
• Such a scenario impacts the quality of livestock that is produced and in turn negatively impacts the return on investment for livestock farmers.

CONCERNS

• Approximately 200 million Indians are involved in livestock farming, including around 100 million dairy farmers.
• Roughly 80% of bovines in the country are low on productivity and are reared by small and marginal farmers.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

• To enhance the productivity of cattle, the Rashtriya Gokul Mission was initiated in 2014.
  • The mission focussed on the genetic upgradation of the bovine population through widespread initiatives on artificial insemination, sex-sorted semen, and in vitro fertilization.
• Also, the government launched the National Livestock Mission (NLM) in 2014.
  • The mission sought to ensure quantitative and qualitative improvement in livestock production systems and capacity building of all stakeholders.

REVISED VERSIONS TO BOOST ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT

• The revised version of the Rashtriya Gokul Mission and National Livestock Mission (NLM) proposes to bring focus on entrepreneurship development and breed improvement in cattle, buffalo, poultry, sheep, goat, and piggery by providing incentives to individual entrepreneurs, farmer producer organisations, farmer cooperatives, joint liability groups, self-help groups, Section 8 companies for entrepreneurship development and State governments for breed improvement infrastructure.

Revised Version of Rashtriya Gokul Mission

• The breed multiplication farm component of the Rashtriya Gokul Mission is going to provide for capital subsidy up to ₹200 lakh for setting up breeding farms with at least 200 milch cows/ buffalo using latest breeding technology.
  • With this the entrepreneur will be responsible for the arrangement of and would be able to sell at least 116 elite female calves every year out of this farm from the third year.
  • The entrepreneur will also start generating income out of the sale of 15 kg of milk per animal per day for around 180 animals from the first year.
  • Moreover, the strategy of incentivising breed multiplication farms will result in the employment of 1 lakh farmers.
• The grassroots initiatives in this sphere will be further amplified by web applications like e-Gopala, that provide real-time information to livestock farmers on the availability of disease-free germplasm in relevant centres, veterinary care, etc.

Revised Version of National Livestock Mission (NLM)

• The poultry entrepreneurship programme of the NLM will provide for capital subsidy up to ₹25 lakh for setting up of a parent farm with a capacity to rear 1,000 chicks.
  • Under this model, the rural entrepreneur running the hatchery will be supplying chicks to the farmers.
  • An entrepreneur will be able to break even within 18 months after launching the business. This is expected to provide employment to at least 14 lakh people.
• In the context of sheep and goat entrepreneurship, there is a provision of capital subsidy of 50% up to 50 lakh.
  • An entrepreneur under this model shall set up a breeder farm, develop the whole chain and will eventually sell the animals to the farmers or in the open market.
  • Each entrepreneur can avail assistance for a breeder farm with animals of high genetic merit from the Central/State government university farms.
• Similarly, 50% capital subsidy of up to ₹30 lakh will be provided for piggery.

Thus, the revised scheme of NLM coupled with the Rashtriya Gokul Mission and the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund has the potential to dramatically enhance the productivity and traceability standards of our livestock.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/improving-livestock-breeding/article37060492.ece