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Livestock farming must be given importance to double farmers’ incomes
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Monday, 18 September, 2017, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Shraddha Joshi, Mumbai
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In order to take the prime minister’s mission to double farmers’ incomes by 2022 forward, agriculture and farmers’ welfare minister Radha Mohan Singh said livestock farming should be given importance, as it had immense potential in Maharashtra.
He was delivering the inaugural speech at the golden jubilee celebrations of the Compound Livestock Feed Manufacturers’ Association of India (CLFMA), a two-day event that concluded at Mumbai’s JW Marriott Hotel recently.
The inaugural session of the event was attended by Mahadev Jankar, minister of animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries, Maharashtra; Devendra Chaudhary, secretary, ADF; P G Phalke, secretary, CLFMA and B Soundarajan, chairman, CLFMA, among others
Singh said, “There is a need to encourage farmers to diversify their farming in fields like fisheries, fruit bearing, livestock farming, as it can easily help to multiply farmers’ incomes.”
“Technical knowledge is also a need of farmers, who should be encouraged to go for alternative farming,” he added.
“Currently, there are over 20 organisations engaged in partnerships, ranging from processors to retailers, multinational corporations (MNCs) and local enterprises, and there is a strong commitment from the industry to support this model,” Singh added.
The objective of the event was to demand industry status for the animal husbandry, highlighting its contribution to the nation's economy.
B Soundarajan, chairman, CLFMA, said, “Improving farmers’ lives is one of the most important aspects. However, it is not possible only through agri limitation of cultivable land. Livestock is the lifeline of the farmers.”
“In order to achieve the mission of doubling farmers’ incomes, the only way is to ally all agricultural activities and formulate right and effective policies,” he said.
“Another important aspect is aligning of industries, including dairy poultry and aquaculture, is required,” Soundarajan said.
Livestock and agriculture are intrinsically linked, each being dependent on the other, and crucial for overall food security.
The contribution of the livestock industry is about 29 per cent of the value of the output from the total agriculture and allied sector.
As per statistics, agriculture contribute 17 per cent of India’s total gross domestic product (GDP), of which 27 per cent comes from animal husbandry.
Dairy, poultry and aquaculture contributes 4.4 per cent to the nation’s GDP, which symbolises the importance of the sectors, as it provides employment opportunities to over 16 million people across the country.
Inaugurating the logo of CLFMA at the event, Devendra Fadnavis, chief minister, Maharashtra said, “Animal husbandry and livestock feed is an important part of the agriculture sector.”
“The target of doubling farmers’ incomes can be achieved when a farmer gets the money like an ATM everyday. There is a need of sustainability in the sector,” he added.
Fadnavis said, “Another important issue related to farmers and agriculture is the issue of farmers’ suicides.”
“When you look deep into the matter, you will find those who have committed suicide were the farmers who used to do mono-cropping and were more dependent on the climatic situations,” he added.
CLFMA is an apex trade body of manufacturers, traders in the sectors like dairy, poultry, aquatic and non-poultry sectors, like meat, animal husbandry and animal feed.
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