Need of sound veterinary extension system for improving the livestock production

Abstract

In an agrarian country like India majority of the population lives in rural areas and depends on agriculture and livestock for their livelihood. Livestock sector plays a great role in food and nutritional security of the country. This sector is facing many challenges in terms of less outreach to farmers, less allocation of funds and neglect from policy makers and livestock related diseases being the major challenge among all. Consistent presence of the disease in livestock is a big hindrance towards sustainable livestock production. India despite being the largest livestock holders in world the production level is very less. There is a large knowledge gap in livestock farmers as only 5% of farm households have access to information on livestock and 40.4% in crop sector. There is need is to give due attention towards livestock sector in order to develop such an extension system that can reach the livestock farmers, address their problems etc. The extension agents and the SMS’s (Subject Matter Specialists) in KVK’s (Krishi Vigyan Kendra) need to be well trained to reach to livestock farmers along with crop farmers. Attention from policy makers towards livestock sector is need of the hour. More allocation of funds need to be given to the animal husbandry departments and better utilization of those funds is to be done for upliftment of livestock farmers and to increase the livestock production.