October 15, 2014

India's former president urges integration between livestock production and feed-grain farming

India's former president, Bharat Ratna Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has underlined the need to integrate livestock rearing with crop production to enhance productivity and reduce poverty in the country.

In an address during the Ayurvet Knowledge Symposium 2014 on Integrating Agriculture and Livestock for Sustainable Development in New Delhi, India, recently, Dr. Kalam said 3 million Indians depended on poultry production for a living. Another 15 million, he added, are farmers growing crops used as ingredients for poultry feeds.

Farming and livestock production are the main sources of livelihood and employment in the rural areas. Both sectors, according to him, are plagued by serious problems such as climatic changes, diminishing land areas for crop production and raising animals, shortage of feed and fodder – all this "resulting in comparatively low productivity and consequently low economic returns" for people in these areas.

By complementing each other, the two sectors can help expand production, manage risks successfully thus raise the incomes of these farmers.

The former president noted the transformation of India's poultry industry over the past few decades from being a mere source of additional income for families to becoming a major commercial activity by itself.

Yet, despite such advances, "the Indian poultry production is considered the cheapest in the world," leaving most people engaged in it struggling economically.

And despite the country's size, it is ranked 17th in world poultry production.

Expressing concern over the perennial shortage of quality feeds, he suggested the increase in use of "green herbage" for livestock animals and the efficient use of croplands to grow enough feed ingredients.

Knowledge Symposium 2014 was organized by Ayurvet Research Foundation in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Rajasthan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (RAJUVAS).

In his welcome address at the opening of the symposium, Dr. Pradip Burman, chairman of the Ayurvet Research Foundation, briefed guests and participants about recent researches and developments done by Ayurvet in preparation for future challenges.

He said livestock are closely linked to the social and cultural lives of several million resource-poor farmers, for whom animal ownership ensures a degree of sustainable farming and economic stability.