The economics of animal rearing

Livestock sector has immense potential forgrowth in Jammu and Kashmir. Livestock contribute to the livelihoods of thepoor often in many ways that other things cannot. It offers them employment anda definite source of income. The economics of animal rearing plays a vital rolein the country’s overall growth. Animal rearing besides directly contributingto the national income & socio-economic development plays other pivotalfunctions:

1. It supplements family income &generates gainful employment in the rural sector.

   

2. It particularly helps the landlesslabourers, small & marginal farmers & women (economic empowerment ofwomen).

3. It provides cheap nutritional food.

4. Function as the best insurance againstdrought, famine & other natural calamities;

5. Last but not the least, it promotes thecause of sustainable agricultural development which forms the base of theoverall country’s GDP growth.

The department of the animal husbandry hasample funding platforms available under various centrally sponsored schemes /central sector schemes to encourage, incentivize establishment of livestockdairy farms & poultry farms etc. The details of some of the importantcentrally sponsored schemes are highlighted as under;

National Livestock Mission: Under this mission,GoI provides a number of schemes under the sub-mission entrepreneurshipdevelopment & employment generation (EDEG) where a subsidy of 25% forunreserved category & 33% for the people belonging to SC/ST community isbeing provided to establish their own poultry units etc. it covers developmentof poultry, fodder, skill development & employment generation components.The scheme is funded by the GoI & state Govt. in the ratio of 90:10 and isthe main funding source for poultry development, feed & fodder development.

Rashtryia Gokul Mission: This is the major funding source platform for bovine breeding & covers all activities for genetic up gradation of local cattle & buffalos. It has components like national programme for bovine breeding & pashu sanjivini.

Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme(DEDS): Main objectives of this scheme areas;

•           Togenerate self employment & provides infrastructure for dairy sector.

•           Tosetup modern dairy farms & production of clean milk infrastructure,

•           Toprovide value addition to milk via processing & production of milkproducts.

Pattern of Assistance:

Bank ended capital subsidy @25% of theproject cost for unreserved category & @ 33% for SC/ST farmers. Thecomponent-wise ceiling will be subjected to indicative cost arrived at byNABARD from time to time.

Entrepreneur contribution (margin) forloans beyond Rs 1 lakh-10% of project cost(minimum).

Livestock health and Disease Control(LH&DC): This scheme has the following components;

•           Assistanceto states for control of animal diseases(ASCAD)

•           Nationalproject on rinderpest surveillance &monitoring (NPRSM)

•           Professionalefficiency development(PED)

•           Foot& mouth disease control program(FMD-CP)

•           Nationalanimal disease reporting system(NADRS)

•           Brucellosiscontrol programme(brucellosis-CP).

Besides these above schemes, an importantfacility that has been recently offered by GoI to the farmers is the extensionof Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to the animal husbandry farmers with the benefits ofinterest subvention (IS) @ 2% and prompt repayment incentive (PRI) @3%..

Objective of KCC

This scheme aims at providing adequate& timely credit support from the banking system with flexible andsimplified procedure to the animal husbandry farmers for their working capitalrequirement towards the following activities.

Milch animal rearing, poultry layer,farming, poultry boiler farming rabbit farming etc.

How to avail

Interested beneficiaries can apply to thenearest concerned animal husbandry officers for the timely implementation ofthese schemes /facilities on ground”.

Author is a registered pharmacist of AHDKashmir.

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