Animal Husbandry
Cattle And Buffalo
Cattle and buffaloes play a vital role in the country's economy. Bullocks provide the motive power in almost all agricultural operations an d in transportation, while the females provide milk which is the principal source of animal protein in the diet of the Indians. The country earns substantial amount of foreign exchange be exporting hides and skins.
India's cattle are well-known in the world for their quality of hardiness, endurance and resistance to tropical animal diseases. Indian has 14 good milch breeds of cattle, 12 of draught cattle and 7 good breeds of buffaloes.
Cattle : Most of the Indian breeds of cattle are classified into three types.
Milch Breeds : The females are high milk yielders while the bullocks are of moderate type or of poor draught quality. Beat known milch breeds found in the country are Gir (Saurashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh), Sindhi (original home Sind, found in dairy farms, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra), Sahiwal (originally from Montgomery in Pakistan, found in dairy farms, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, UP) and Deoni (north-western and western parts of Andhra Pradesh).
Draught Breeds : The females are poor milkers but the bullocks are excellent draught animals. Best draught breeds of India include Nagori (Native of Jodhpur, found in Rajasthan, Haryana, UP&MP), Bachour (Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Champaran, all in Bihar). Malvi (dry western parts of Madhya Pradesh), kenkatha or Kenwariya (Ken valley in Banda in UP, Madhya Pradesh), Kherigarh (Lakhimpur and Kheri districts of UP), Hallikar and Amritmahal (Peninsula), Khillari (Solapur and Satara districts of Maharasthra), Bargur and Kangayam (Tamilnadu), Siri (hilly areas of Darjeeling, West Bengal, Sikkim and Bhutan).
Dual Purpose Breeds : The females are fairly good milk yielders and the bullocks are good for draught purposes. Best dual purpose breeds of India include Tharparkar (hailing from Sind also found in Gujarat and Rajasthan). Kankrej (Gujarat Plains), haryana (Haryana, Delhi and UP), Mewati (Mathura district of UP, Alwar and Bharatpur of Rajasthan), Rath (a mixture of Nagori, Haryana and Mewti breed, found in west Alwar), Gaolao (Chhindwara district of MP, Wardha and Nagpur of Maharasthra), Ongole (Nellore and Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh).
Most of the good milk, draught or dual purpose breeds are found in the dry northern, north-western and southern part of the country whereas the humid coastal and eastern regions have only poor breeds good neither for milk nor draught purpose.
Buffaloes : Buffaloes are an excellent source of milk in India. Male buffaloes constitute excellent draught animals particularly for heavy carting.
Not only India possesses largest number of buffalos in the world but also its breeds are the world's best. Indian buffaloes have contributed not only to milk, meat and draught power but superior germplasm. The most important Indian buffalo breeds are :
(i) Murrach, found in Rohtak, Hissar and Gurgaon (Haryana) and Delhi, are high milk yielders, male buffaloes are excellent for draght farm work,
(ii) Bhadawari, found in Agra and Etawah districts of UP and in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh,
(iii) Jaffrabadi, found in Gir forest of Gujarat, are high milk yielders and males are used for draught purposes;
(iv) Surti, found in Gujarat Plains, are good milk yielders and males are good draught an imals;
(v) Nagpuri and Ellichpuri, found in Vidarbha region of Maharasthra, are good milk yielders and males are good draght animals.
Development Projects : Several measures have been taken recently to improve the quality of indigenous cattle. In order to improve milk yielding capacity of the Indian cattle they have been crossbreed with bulls of exotic breeds like Jersey, Brown Swiss, Guernsy and German Felekwich in recent years; Shorthorn, Ayrshire and Holstein-Friesian were introduced in the country on military farms before. Besides 7 central cattle breeding farms have been established for the production of high-quality bulls of important breeds of cattle and buffalo for selective breeding purpose.
The other schemes for all round development of cattle initiated are Key Village Blocks, and Intensive Cattle Development Project. Development of fodder and feed is also receiving increasing attention. Stray bulls of inferior quality are chiefly responsible for the deterioration of breeds in some areas; all such bulls and also the other stray cattle which cause so much damage to crops are being segregated. Similarly a large number of small gaushalas have been set up to breed better cattle and to increase milk production.
Major efforts at conservation of breeds of cattle have been made by the ICAR through the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) and Project Directorate on Cattle. For livestock improvement, the germplasm of superior cattle breed/strains developed earlier is being make available in the form of breeding males/frozen semen through artificial insemination centres. The new strains of cattle have produced on an average 3,400-3, 700 kg milk per lactation. An elite herd of buffaloes with an average of 305 days lactation milk yield of 2,790 kg has been established, for production of future young and herd replacement, by mating with proven sires.
Sheep
Sheep plays and important role in Indian economy as it provides mutton, skin and manure besides wool. India ranks sixth in sheep population in the world. The average wool yield of Indian sheep is less than 1 kg per sheep per year. Total wool production in the country during 1994-95 was 43.6 million kg whereas total requirement of wool in the country is above 80 million kg per annum. This gap is bridged through import of fine wool.
Mostly sheep are raised in regions which are too dry, too rocky, or too mountainous for other agricultural purposes or for cattle breeding. Depending on the quality and quantity of wool, the sheep areas may be divided into 4 zones.
(i) Temperate Himalayan Region — Comprises Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and the Uttarakhand region of Uttar Pradesh. The region has a favourable climate for good quality sheep which produce long stapled, soft and fine wool used for the production of shawls, coarse light blankets (lohis), pashmina, pattus etc.
India's best quality sheep are found in Kangra, Chamba, Kullu and Kashmir valleys at an altitude of over 2,000 metres. The most important sheep breeds found in the area are the Kashmir Valley, Bhadarwah, Bhakarwal and Rampur-Bushair. The wool yield of these animals varies from one to two kg per sheep per year. The quality of sheep deteriorates towards the east.
(ii) Arid North-Western Region — Comprises Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and the dry parts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The annual wool production in the areas is estimated at 21,000 tonnes or about 63 per cent of India's total wool clip. The yield per animal varies from 0.9 to 2 kg per year. The important wool breeds found in the area include Jaisalmeri, Malpuri, Sonadi, Pugal, Magra, Bikaneri, Shekhawati, Lohi, Marwari, Kutchi and Kathiawari.
(iii) Semi-/Arid Southern Region — Comprises maharasthra, Karnakata, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and has over half of the country's total sheep population, though the total production of wool in the area is only 11,000 tonnes or about a third of the country's total production. The quality of wool is very poor, mostly being coarse and grey-coloured. About half of the total number of sheeps are raised only for mutton purpose. The Deccani and Nellore are the important breeds of the Peninsular regions, the Mandya, Yalag and Bandur are important in south Karnataka. The average yield of these breeds is very low, 400-500 grams per sheep per year.
(iv) Humid Eastern Region — Comprises Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Assam and the other eastern states and union territories. The climate is too humid and, therefore, unfavourable for sheep rearing. Majority of the sheep in the area are raised for mutton. The yield of wool per sheep is the lowest in the country being only 113-284 grams per year, its quality is also very poor.
Wool — About 53 per cent of the total production of wool in India is of coarse grade, 42 per cent of medium grade and only 5 per cent of high grade. The wool from the Peninsular and the eastern humid regions has a lesser content of wool than hair, whereas the wool from the temperate himalayan region and the arid north-western region is of superior quality with a larger wool content. Most of the wool produced in the country is suitable only for carpets, namdahs and blankets.
Fine wool for clothing is obtained from chokla of Rajasthan, Hissardale of Haryana and Deccani Rambouillet of Maharashtra. Fine-medium grade wool for rough clothing is obtained from Gaddi, Rampur-Bushair, Gurez, Karnah and Bhadarwah of Jammu and kashmir, Biangi an Mewati of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh; Bagri and Sutar of Punjab; and Bikaneri of Rajasthan; Magra and Jaisalmeri of Rajasthan; Marwari and Pugal of Rajasthan; and Patanwadi and Joria of north Gujarat. Coarse wool for rough carpets, namadahs and blankets is producted from the Malpuri of Rajasthan, Kutchi of north Gujarat and pahari and Deshi of Punjab.
Development Programme — Principal objectives of sheep development are to make the country self-sufficient of wool production vis-a-vis meat production through scientific breeding and raise the status of sheep breeders.
With a view to upgrading the Indian flocks, cross-breeding of ewes of Indian origin has been done with rams of superior foreign breeds, chief amongst which are the Merino, Rambouillet, Cheviot, Southdown, Leicerster and Lincoln. The cross breeds so prepared produce up to 5 kg of fine quality wool per year. The most important cross breeds developed in the country so far are the Hassardale and Corriedale breeds. A Central Sheep Breeding Farm with exotic breed of sheep has been set up at Hissar. At present, as well as cross breeding for production of superior rams. Artificial insemination (AI) has not been adopted for sheep though this could improve the breeds and have more efficient use of semen.
Goat
Goats provide us with milk, meat, hair, skin and manure. Goats are rimarily bye the rural population. Goats are found in all parts of the country, however, the density is high in thickly populated regions of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Tamilnadu.
Most of the Indian goats are nondescripts although certain outstanding breeds are found in some areas such as
(i) Chamba, Gaddi, Chegu and Kashmiri breeds of Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir and the renowned Pashmina of kashmir are the most important breeds producing soft warm fleece used for high-quality fabrics in varies from 21 to 56 grams per year;
(ii) the milch breeds like Jamnapari and Barbari breeds of western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana yield up to 5 kg of milk per day, Beetal breed of Punjab gives up to 2 kg of milk;
(iii) Marwari, Meshana, Kathiawari and Zalwadi breeds of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, have been developed by cross-breeding the local animals with the jamnapari breed and are good for milk and hair both;
(iv) Barari, Surti and Deccani breeds in the Peninsula yield up to 2 kg of milk per day.
Many important foreign breeds, chief amongst which are the Alpine, Nubian, Saanen, Toggenberg and Angora, have been used for cross-breeding with local breeds for upgrading in recent years. The new strain of Mohari goat evolved through grading of Sangammeri goat with Angora has produced 1.5 kg mohair at 87.5% exotic inheritance.
Poultry
Poultry includes all domestic fowls which are reared for their flesh, eggs or feathers and includes chickens, ducks, geeses, turkeys, etc. Considering the high food value of poultry products and relatively small capital requirement involved, the poultry industry is at present recognised as an important enterprise for the villages and small town; providing as it does a useful subsidiary occupation. India ranks fifth in the world's egg production. The average per capita consumption is about 32 eggs and 600 gm of poultry meat a year as against the recommended 180 eggs and 1kg of all meats (40 gm poultry meat) per year.
India has achieved 310 eggs per bird per annum and a broiler weight of 1.5 kg in 40 days, through genetic improvements aimed at reducing feed consumption and improving feed efficiency and ability to withstand climatic stress during high temperatures.
Domestic fowls in India are usually divided into two broad groups :
(i) Desi breeds that include all indigenous fowls which are not of any pure breed, such as Nacked Neck, Chittagong, Tenis, Punjab, Brown, Chagas, Lolab, Titre, Busra, Karaknath Denki, Tillicherry, Kalahasti, etc.
(ii) Imported or exoitc or improved breeds are those which have been acclimatized in India, such as White Leghorn, Rhode Island Red, Black Minocra, Plymouth Rock, Australorp, New Hampshire, Light Sussex, Brown Leghorn, etc.
The largest number of poultry population is found in Andhra Pradesh followed by Bihar, West Bengal, Tamilnadu, Assam, Maharasthra, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, M.P., U.P. and Punjab.
Pig
Pig farming has a great significance as it is one of the most efficient feed converting and weight gaining animal. It can play an important role in improving the socio-economic status of weaker rural communities. There are more than 10 million pigs in the country, of which approximately 10 per cent are of graded and exotic variety. At Present there are about 100 pig farms in the country that breed pigs and supply boars and sows to the farmers for cross breeding and improvement of desi stock. Exotic breeds like White Yorkshire, Landrew, Tamwerth and Berkshire are being crossbred. A centrally sponsored scheme 'Assistance to States for Integrated Piggery Development' is being implemented for strengthening the pig breeding farms in the states.
Sericulture
Sericulture is the art of rearing silkworms for silk production. The silkworm is fed mostly on mulberry trees. Since these worms are voracious eaters of mulberry leaves (e.g., every pound of raw silk needs of 150 lbs of leaves), on other easily raised tree provides such a large supply of leaves on which the silkworm can survive.
India is an important raw silk producer. It ranks second (after China) among the silk producing countries of the world, accounting for slightly over 13 percent of the world production. India enjoys the unique distinction of being the only country in the world where all the four varieties of silk, viz. mulberry, tasar, eri and muga are commercially raised. The mulberry silk worms are reared on mulberry leaves, whereas the remaining three viz, muga, tasar and eri, are reared on a variety of leaves including castor, oak, asan, gurjan and matti. Indian is the only country where the fabulously famed golden "muga silk" is raised.
Next to handloom and khadi, sericulture is the biggest village industry in the country. It provides part-or whole-time employment to about 35 lakh persons.
The mulberry silk producing areas are Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir. Tasar silk is obtained from Chhotanagpur plateau and Orissa. Eri and muga silk are mostly obtained from Assam.
The bulk of the Indian raw silk, except for about 5 per cent of univoltine grade in Jammu and Kashmir, is of the multivoltion grade which is not of high quality. The multivoltine races of the tropical regions have limitations in regard to quality and, therefore, attempts have been made to introduce bivoltine races which give more yields and higher quality. The yield per 100 disease-free layings is of the order of 40-50 kg of cocoons which is almost double that of local races and there renditta is brought down to the level of 8 to 10 as against 16 to 20 for the local races. The quality is far superior and reaches the A-grade level of international standards.
Fisheries
Fisheries play an important role in Indian economy. It helps in augmenting food supply, generating employment, raising nutritional level and earning foreign exchange. Fish forms an important part of diet of many people mainly living in coastal areas of Kerala, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat. Only a small production is accounted for by the land-locked states.
Though India has a long coastline of 6,083 km and a continental shelf spread over 3,11,680 km2 with a total fish potential of 1 crore tonnes per year, and a large area under inland water bodies capable of producing another 10 lakh tonnes per year, her production is unsatisfactory being only about 2.4 per cent of the total world production. The fishing industry in the country is mostly in a primitive stage and needs remedial measures urgently if the hug fish resources available are to be exploited. At present 72 per cent of the total catch is brought by nonmechanised boats. The major constraints of Indian fishing fleet; (ii) inadequacy of landing and berthing facilities, non-availability of large fishing vessels, (iii) inadequacy of advanced processing facilities like freezing and canning; (iv) inadequate development of refrigerated transport; and (v) lack of organised markets.
Fish resources can be classified into (i) marine fisheries and (ii) fresh water fisheries.
Marine Fisheries
Marine fisheries including coastal fisheries and offshore and deep sea fisheries constitute the major source of fish in India.
Coastal Fisheries — These are confined to the coastal waters, upto 25 m depth and stretching for a few km, (16 km) from the shore, and account for almost the entire marine fish production in the country. Coastal fishing comprises pelagic species like sardines, mackerel and lesser sardines and bottom species like Bombay duck and silver bellies and shrimps. About 65 per cent production is accounted for by herrings, sardines and anchovies and the remaining 35 percent by tunas, bonitos, mackerels, crustaceans, shark, rays, skales, flounders and halibuts.
The fisheries of West and east coasts of India are strikingly different. More than 75 percent of total marine fish landings are from West Coast in Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Goa and Daman and Diu, in that order of importance. The fishing season here runs from September to March, The higher fish production of this coast is due to broad continental shelf; the oceanic character of its water; and more pronounced seasonal cycle and higher phosphate and nitrate contents of its water, which results in greater plankton productivity. Fishes like sardines, mackerel and prawns are almost confined to west coast only.
On the East Coast, fishing season runs from July to October in Andhra coast and from September to April on the Coromandal coast. The circulation of water on this coast is less pronounced. The north-east monsoon winds (that sweep over Bay of Bengal) are moderate and of shorter duration. The occurrence of large rivers and coastal lakes, such as, Chilka and Pulicat, has provided scope for estuarine fisheries. The fishes of this coast are conspicuous by the paucity of sardines and mackerel and presence of horse mackerels, clupeoids and silver bellies.
Offshore and Deep Sea Fisheries — This includes fishing in offshore and distant parts of high seas for surface, mid-water and bottom form. It has not been well developed in India and accounts for a small production of marine fish in the country. The important commercial fishes of these grounds are : rawas (Indian Salmon), dara, ghol, koth, wam, shark, promfrets, calfishes, rays, silver bellies, shende, prawns etc. Fishing in this zone is done by power driven vessels and highly mechanised gears such as trawls. In order to exploit the offshore and deep sea fisheries many Deep Sea Fishing Stations have been established and survey is going on for locating fishing grounds. For deep sea fisheries to be successful there should be harbour and anchorage facilities, motor transport from landing places to areas of distribution and consumption, marketing and storage facilities, besides scientifically trained manpower.
Inland Fisheries
The inland fisheries includes the
(i) fresh water fisheries like tanks and ponds, rivers, irrigation canals, and reservoirs and fresh water lakes; and
(ii) estuarine fisheries like estuaries, backwaters, tidal estuaries, lagoons, inundated areas and swamps along the entire coast.
Fresh Water Fisheries — It is the mainstay of inland fisheries and is broadly divided into two —
(i) pond fisheries and
(ii) riverine fisheries.
There are no organised pond fisheries in India. It is widespread in West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu and Delhi. Quick-growing species with non-predaceous feeding habits are generally selected for cultivation in ponds, tanks and reservoirs.
Riverine fisheries account for about one-third of the total fish production in the country. River fishing is very active during winter season. Most of the fresh-water fishing is carried out with hooks, lines and other trap devices and boats are used only in large-fresh water lakes and reservoirs.
The important fresh water fisheries are — catla[ rahita, kalabasu, tor, mringal, vacha, amabas, rohu, herring, hilsa, eels and anchovies. Nearly 72 percent of total fresh water fish marketed in the country is contributed by West Bengal, Bihar and Assam.
Estuarine Fisheries — The fishes of estuarine fisheries in India are mostly marine species like hilsa, milk fish, anchovies, mullets, cat fishes, perches and pearlspot. Estuarine fisheries are prominent in estuarine areas of the rivers Ganga, Mahanadi, Godavari, krishna, Cauvery, Narmada, and Tapti; the brackish water lakes of Chilka and Pulicat and the backwaters of Kerala.
Development Programes
The main objectives of fisheries development programmes are µ (i) enhancing production and productivity of fisherman and fishing industry; (ii) augmenting export of marine products through production support and thereby increasing foreign exchange earnings; (iii) generating employment for the coastal and rural poor; and (iv) improving welfare of fishermen and their socio- economic conditions.
Development schemes for marine fisheries include mechanisation of fishing craft, exploratory and experimental fishing to locate new grounds, improvement of fishing methods and practices, increasing the supply of fishery requirements and provision of adequate facilities for landing, preservation, transport and marketing of fish.
Apart from 4 major fishing harbours viz, Cochin, Madras, Visakhapatnam and Roychowk, 26 minor fishing harbours and 99 fish landing centres have been set up to provide landing and berthing facilities to fishing craft. Construction of 2 major fishing harbours at Sassoon Dock in Mumbai and at Paradip is completed.
Schemes for development of inland fisheries aim at increasing production through surveys, exploitation of reservoirs, introduction of fish culture techniques, development of riverine fisheries, improvement of village pond for fish culture, fish seed production, induced breeding and construction of nursery farms.
