Integrated dairying plays an important role in ensuring food security and generating income for small farmers and agricultural labourers.

“A farmer can earn a gross income of about Rs. 81,485 per year from maintaining just one native cow breed. The capital investment required for purchase and maintenance of an animal, insurance, and feed comes to Rs. 31,100 and a farmer can get a net surplus of about Rs. 50,385 in a year,” says Dr. K. Haranath Reddy, Deputy Director (AH), S.V. Gosamrakshana Shala, TTD, Tirupati.

Unscientific policies

Traditional, unscientific animal husbandry policies by the government, and factors such as fodder scarcity, grossly inadequate health cover, and over population of low yielders reduced the productivity of local breeds compared to that of their European counterparts, according to him.........Click for more

Source Web Page: The Hindu