Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel - Part II : Actionable points for the WGEA : 2.3 Animal Husbandry

Opinion
       21/11/2018
                1556.

SUB : Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel - Part II : Actionable points for the WGEA : 2.3 Animal Husbandry

REF : 2.3 Animal Husbandry

Livestock mostly cattle, goats, sheep and poultry rearing is a major livelihood activity in the Western Ghats. Cattle rearing is for milk, agriculture (for manure and for ploughs), and transport; sheep and goat for meat and income from sale and manure; and poultry mostly for consumption and sale. Several well-defined livestock breeds well adapted to the local conditions have been bred in this region. However, there has been a declining trend in the indigenous livestock populations in contrast to a marked increase in crossbred cattle due to introduction of exotic breeds as part of the livestock development programmes of the Government resulting in more damage than benefit to the livestock keepers.

Karnataka :
Karnataka is one of the few states, which has collected information on breeds of sheep, goat and pigs, besides cattle and buffaloes. The state has a crossbred cattle population of 16 lakhs along with a population of 2,000 exotic cattle. This comes to about 17% of the total cattle population of the state. The state has reported information on the different breeds of indigenous cattle, namely Hallikar, Amruthamahal, Khilaar, Deoni, Malanadu Gidda (a well adapted local breed of the Western Ghats) and Krishna Valley breeds. The prevalence of various buffalo breeds, namely Murrah, Surthi, Pandarpuri, and Mehasaani has been reported in Karnataka. Merino, Rambouillet and Corriedale are some of the exotic breeds of sheep found in the state. A variety of different indigenous breeds of sheep, namely Bannur, Deccani, Bellary and Hassan are found in Karnataka. The population of around 20,000 crossbred pigs in Karnataka consists mainly of Landrace and Yorkshire breeds.

Local breeds of cattle found in the Kollegal-Satyamangalam range of the Western Ghats (Karnataka and Tamilnadu) comprise the Konga, Karagu Batta, Hasur Batta and Gujjamavu types and the communities rearing them are the Kampaliga and Soliga Tribes.

According to the 2003 census, Karnataka had 5.15 % of cattle, 4.08 % of buffaloes, 11.8 % of sheep, 3.61 % of goats, 2.31 % of pigs and 5.23 % of the poultry population of the country. In Karnataka, crossbred cattle increased by 23.9 percent but indigenous cattle decreased by 16.80 %, in the period between 1997 and 2003. The buffalo population has also decreased by 8.6 %, the population of sheep, goats and pigs have decreased by 9.3 %, 8.02 %, and 22.96 % respectively during the period. The total livestock in the state has decreased from 29.57 million (1992 census) to 28.526 million (1997 census) and 25.621 million (2003 census) in the last three censuses.

Kerala:

Two distinct cattle breeds, namely Vechur (almost extinct) and Kasergode Dwarf; the Malabar goat breed, the Naked Neck poultry breed and several other non-descript breeds are being reared in Kerala.

Crossbreeds are introduced on a large scale by the Government for promoting dairy farming. Indigenous cattle breeds were not considered for cross breeding programmes. Instead the exotic Jersey and Holstein-Friesian (HF) breeds were introduced. Waynaad district tribals constitute 42% of the population. Now this district is also the highest producer of milk which was not a traditional enterprise. In the last two decades, a drastic decline in all types of livestock and poultry population was noticed. The reasons for the decline are scarcity of low cost and quality fodder, rapid increase in the cost of feed and indiscriminate slaughter of local breeds of animals for meat. Farmers’ preferences have also changed from local breeds to crossbreeds because of the promotion of dairy farming and of milk breeds by the Government. Further, replacement of the diversified inter-cropping agriculture system, as elsewhere, by mono-culture and commercial crops, and the resultant replacement of the great indigenous genetic agro-diversity by a narrow genetic range has lead to a huge scarcity of food and fodder for animals in the form of crop residues.

Tamil Nadu:

The major local breeds in Tamil Nadu are Kangayam cattle, Thoda buffalo (Nilgiris), Mecheri sheep (Erode), and Coimbatore sheep. Although the Kangayam cattle conform largely to the Southern Indian Mysore type, studies show evidences of the Gray-White Ongole cattle traits in their genetic composition. Possibly this mixture has given the breed its larger size in comparison with other cattle of the Mysore type. These cattle are bred in the southern and southeastern area of the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. There are two varieties of Kangayam cattle, one small and the other large. The smaller variety is more numerous in the Kangayam, Dharampuram, Udmalpet, Pollachi, Paddadam and Erode subdivisions, while the larger variety occurs mostly in the areas of Karur, Aravakurchi and Dindigul subdivisions. The breed is found in its pure form in the herds of some large breeders, notably the Pattagar of Palayamkottai, who are supposed to have one of the best herds of the breed in the country. Kangayam cattle are of moderate size, active and powerful, and are highly priced animals. The cows are generally poor milk yielders but there are exceptions.

In Tamil Nadu, crossbred cattle increased by 46.61 % while indigenous varieties decreased by 27.79 % between 1997 and 2003. The buffalo population has decreased heavily by 39.51 % while sheep and goat populations increased by 6.35 % and 27.45 % respectively. The pig population has decreased by 47.29 % in the State.

Maharashtra:
Cattle, sheep, goat and poultry are the livestock reared in the Maharashtra Western Ghats. Dangi Cattle is an endangered breed that takes its name from the hilly track of the Dangs adjoining Gujarat and is found in the eastern hill slopes, characterized by dry deciduous forests, of the Western Ghats hill ranges of Nasik and Igatpuri. Mansoli, the Naked Neck poultry breed is found on the western Konkan coastal regions which are hilly with very high rainfall. There are several other livestock breeds which are locally reared and suitable to the local conditions.

NEXT :
Issues of Concern
Plant diversity of the Western Ghats and livestock rearing

To be continued ..

JAIHIND
VANDE MATARAM

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