Transforming livestock economy in India with special reference to Punjab: A review Dhawan Vikrant1,*, Kashish2 1Department of Agronomy, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141004, Punjab, India 2Department of Economics and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141004, Punjab, India *Address for correspondence: Vikrant Dhawan: Department of Agronomy, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141004 Punjab, India. E-mail: vikdhawan@pau.edu
Online published on 24 June, 2016. Abstract The present study examined livestock economy of Punjab. The growth rate was ranged between from-0.61 to 7.98 per cent per annum from the year 1997 to 2012 for different species of livestock in Punjab. The overall growth rate was found to be 3.27 per cent per annum for total livestock population in Punjab over the years. Though the decrease in livestock bovine population, the milk production in Punjab had increased from 3.22 to 9.71 million tonnes and per capita availability of milk increased from 541 to 961 gram per day with an impressive growth rate of 3.51 and 1.82% per annum from year 1980–81 to 2012–13. The milk production of India had reached up to 137.7 million tonnes during the year 2013–14. With the advancement of the livestock sector, the veterinary officers, insemination centers, and veterinary hospitals had also shown an overall growth rate of 0.65, 1.96 and 0.07 per cent per annum respectively from the year 1980–81 to 2012–13. The egg production in Punjab has also shown a positive trend over the years. The egg production in Punjab has increased from 2961.3 to 3724.6 million with an overall growth rate of 2.11 per cent per annum from the year 1980–81 to 2013–14. The % share of Punjab in the country is decreasing over the years with a negative growth rate of 3.29 per cent per annum. With increasing population and urbanization, the demand for goat and poultry meat is increasing over the years with an impressive growth rate of 1.09 per cent per annum from the year 1980–81 to 2013–14. The livestock sector has great potential for increasing income and employment and also reduces income inequality among rural farmers. The study has suggested that appropriate policy measures should be undertaken to strengthen veterinary services, marketing of livestock products and improving the breed of animals for developing a strong livestock economy of the state. Top Keywords Livestock economy, milk production, egg production and slaughterhouses. Top |