Files
Abstract
Although agriculture is the prime source of livelihood for a majority of
rural population in the North-Eastern region (NER) of India, dependence
on livestock as an alternative source of income is significant. Responding
to the burgeoning demand for livestock products in a sustainable manner
is a big challenge. The widening gap between the demand and supply of
livestock products can be met through bringing out changes in the
production structure or opening up the international trade. In this context,
an analysis of performance and factors influencing development of the
livestock sector in NER has been carried out. The growth of livestock
sector has been found slower in the NER than at the national level. However,
a significant proportion of landless labourers, small and marginal farmers
have access to livestock resources and acceleration in the growth of
livestock in NER offers significant opportunities for household income
augmentation and employment generation. Several factors identified to
influence households’ decision to rear livestock include availability of
labour, occupation, caste, farm-size, availability of irrigation, and access
to information sources. The study has shown that the NE states should
take technical, institutional and policy initiatives for the improvement of
breeds, feed availability, disease control and food safety of livestock.