Small Ruminant Production in India: Strategies for Enhancing

Two- third of worlds poor live in Asia below defined poverty lines and more than 65 % of them are poor livestock keepers deriving their economic sustenance from small ruminant rearing. Small and marginal farmers or land less labors with negligible land holding for conventional agriculture rely on livestock, particularly small ruminant rearing for their sustenance. Sheep and goat rearing is less capital intensive operated by employing surplus family labor or women and children on community rangeland under extensive range management. Agro-climatically large part of the country is semiarid and arid where conventional agriculture is always a gamble due to erratic rain and frequent failure of monsoon hence livestock particularly small ruminant play pivotal role in agrarian economy. Sheep were earlier reared for wool as the major produce while with paradigm shift in agriculture meat has replaced wool. More than 70 % Indian consumers are non vegetarian by choice with preference for sheep and goat meat With rapid urbanization and improvement in economic status, the demand for meat is likely to increase further than the present level of 6 kg/person/year. Moreover the demand for meat in southern states, J and K and export market is increasing rapidly requiring development of technology to meet the challenge. The advantage of large population size, comparatively leaner meat yield suited for elite calorie conscious consumers, organic production, increasing demand of domestic market and export avenues due render the venture promising for investment by entrepreneurs. Various system of small ruminant production is practiced world over while the existing system of extensive range management and developed system of grazing with supplementation and intensive feeding has relevance in Indian context.