Track 2-1-1: Grazing Systems, Grassland Restoration and Livestock Production
Description
Livestock production is the backbone of Indian agriculture and also plays a key role in providing employment especially in rural areas. In India, there is no practice of fodder production in rural areas and animals generally consume naturally grown grasses and shrubs which are of low quality in terms of protein and available energy, they are thus heavily dependent on seasonal variations and this results in fluctuation in fodder supply round the year affecting supply of milk round the year. For proper growth and development of the livestock, feed management is of great importance. In Jehanabad district, majority of the farm families are small and marginal having agriculture + livestock farming system. In spite of having large cattle population in the district, the area under fodder production is hardly 1-2 percent of the total cropped area. The continuous use of rice and wheat straw for feeding without use of green fodder is one of the reasons for low milk production and poor health of milch animals. There is acute shortage of fodder especially green nutritious fodder, which is major cause of low productivity of livestock, especially in hilly area (Deb Roy et al., 1989) The main 3 reasons for low productivity is insufficient and low quality fodder and feed including grazing facilities (Deb Roy, 1993). Presently research has been mainly conducted on cultivation of green fodder in irrigated areas but it is high time to emphasize to dry land fodder or partially irrigated fodder crops.
Included in
Productivity Enhancement of Livestock through Promotion of Fodder Cultivation in Jehanabad District
Livestock production is the backbone of Indian agriculture and also plays a key role in providing employment especially in rural areas. In India, there is no practice of fodder production in rural areas and animals generally consume naturally grown grasses and shrubs which are of low quality in terms of protein and available energy, they are thus heavily dependent on seasonal variations and this results in fluctuation in fodder supply round the year affecting supply of milk round the year. For proper growth and development of the livestock, feed management is of great importance. In Jehanabad district, majority of the farm families are small and marginal having agriculture + livestock farming system. In spite of having large cattle population in the district, the area under fodder production is hardly 1-2 percent of the total cropped area. The continuous use of rice and wheat straw for feeding without use of green fodder is one of the reasons for low milk production and poor health of milch animals. There is acute shortage of fodder especially green nutritious fodder, which is major cause of low productivity of livestock, especially in hilly area (Deb Roy et al., 1989) The main 3 reasons for low productivity is insufficient and low quality fodder and feed including grazing facilities (Deb Roy, 1993). Presently research has been mainly conducted on cultivation of green fodder in irrigated areas but it is high time to emphasize to dry land fodder or partially irrigated fodder crops.
