Role of Veterinarian for the doubling of Farmer’s income
Dr. Shveta Singh
Ph.D. Scholar
Department of Veterinary Medicine, C.V.Sc. ,Khanapara,Guwahati (AAU), Assam
Approximately 70% of Indian farmers’ income comes from the agricultural sector. Agriculture sector is the important part of the Indian economy. In the past, increasing agricultural output and enhancing food security have been the main goals of India’s agricultural sector development strategies. Farmers’ incomes are low because the strategy did not specifically acknowledge the need to increase farmer incomes. The income of farmers continued to be low in comparison to that of workers in the non-farm sector. The number of farmer suicides in India has also sharply increased as a result of farming losses, income shocks, and low farm income. An increasing number of cultivators especially those in the younger age group are being forced to quit farming due to the low farm income. Food insecurity may result from this, which could have a negative impact on the nation’s agricultural industry going forward. In order to improve farmer welfare, lessen agrarian hardship, and achieve income parity between farmers and those in non-agricultural professions, it is necessary to double farmers’ income.
| Enhancing Farmers’ Income | |||||
| Enhance Gross Income | Reduce Costs | Stabilise Income | |||
| Production Growth | Higher Prices | Diversify-Farm/Non-farm | Reduce purchased Inputs | Exploit Complementarities | Coping Mechanisms |
Need to double the farmer’s income:-
Promote farmers welfare
Adoption of new technologies that promotes farmer growth and productivity, The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries, are promoting of farmers’ welfare, also develops a number of programmes and Yojnas. For instance, the Electronic National Agricultural Market, or ENAM, The National Livestock Mission, the Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Programme, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY), etc.
Young people in rural areas are less interested in farming
Young people become less interested in farming and quit because of credit issues and unfavourable perceptions of the industry, Because agriculture is becoming less profitable and young people are not choosing to become farmers.
The Indian government has developed two programmes to educate rural youth about farming: the Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA) and the Rural Entrepreneurship Awareness Development Yojna (READY) (Indian Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, 2018).
Boost livelihood:
Smallholder farmers, who own less than two hectares of land, rely on the labour of their household members and a limited number of other inputs. Contract farming and integrated farming contribute to increased access to finance and input resources through diversification.
Eliminating poverty:
In India, approximately 21.90% of people live in poverty. Concentrated farming communities are the source of poverty in India; farm women, men, and children depend on a precarious balance of multiple livelihoods where hunger is a daily occurrence and access to essential services like water supply, health care, and education is challenging.
Increase the productivity of animals
By expanding the coverage of A.I. :
In India, just 35% of cattle and buffalo are covered by A.I. Reduced semen straw availability is the primary cause of low A.I. To reach the reasonable A.I. number, we need 160 million doses of semen straws compared to 81 million that are available.
Improving the productivity efficiency of dairy animal
The productivity of dairy animals can be increased through improved management of nutrition and housing, health, and prevention of reproductive diseases like anestrous, delayed puberty, and delayed heat. Various breeding techniques and improved genetic material are also helpful.
Technology generation and dissemination:
Information technology in the livestock industry is used to distribute information about the animals, like immunisation alerts that can be sent through a mobile service prior to the monsoon.
Increase productivity of milch animal
India produces very little milk (2-4 kg/day) per animal when compared to other nations. Different breeding programmes and techniques, like inbreeding and outbreeding, are used to increase animal productivity, which can double a farmer’s income.
Improvement of availability of fodder
India has a 10 percent shortfall in dry fodder, a 35 percent shortfall in green fodder, and a 33 percent shortfall in concentrate, per research Therefore, increasing the production of fodder crops and modifying diets can improve the availability of fodder.
Health and house management
Enough room for each animal, avoiding animal crowding, adequate ventilation, water management, and feeding. In an animal shelter, administration and good hygiene should be provided. Farmers should take responsibility for the animal’s management as well as its welfare and comfort.
Feeding management
Ration balancing
The most important input in the production of livestock is animal feed; feed scarcity, inadequate nutritional value, and uneven feeding are the main issues with productivity. Feeding dairy animals in a balanced ratio boosts productivity by lowering feed costs. It also offers dairy farmers advice on the right amount of dry feed, green feed, and concentrate supplements to give their animals based on factors like age, breed, weight, and lactation stage. According to research, ration balancing interventions increase the productivity of buffalo by 5.50% and cows by approximately 13.00%. Interventions for rationing can double the number of farmers. revenue with just a 5% rise in milk yield (price) and a 5% decrease in feed costs.
Increase forage availability
Mixing and intercropping are popular techniques for reducing the chance of crop failure. Low-water-requirement, short-duration crops like cowpeas and cluster beans can be interplanted with long-duration crops like pearl millet and sorghum. Raising fodder crops as catch crops in between the main cropping seasons can boost fodder production.
Feeding of mineral mixture
Animals should have unrestricted access to common salt and mineral bricks to prevent mineral deficiencies such as those in calcium, phosphorus, and copper. A balance concentrate containing 2% of the mineral mixture can effectively supplement the animal’s milk yield during the lean period.
