What is Animal Husbandry: Its Importance, Types and Benefits

Table of Contents   

• Introduction   
• What is Animal Husbandry?  
• What is the Difference between Animal Husbandry & Livestock?
• What are the Different Types of Animal Husbandry?
  • Poultry Farming  
  • Cattle Farming 
  • Beekeeping
  • Fish Farming   
• What is the Status of Animal Husbandry in India?
  • Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries (DADF)
• Why is Animal Husbandry Essential?
• What are the Advantages of Animal Husbandry for Indian Farmers? 
• What Good Animal Husbandry Practices Benefit Farmers? 
• Final Insights

Introduction   

Animal husbandry is an important branch of agriculture that involves raising and breeding animals of animals. It is an important link between humans and nature, which fulfils various needs of the human population. It not only provides us with food and various products but also helps create manure and generate energy resources. Animal husbandry makes a significant contribution to the Indian economy. It generates income for farmers, creates employment opportunities, and helps earn valuable foreign exchange. Animal husbandry basically comprises two entities. One relates to raising livestock, and the other relates to selective breeding.

What is Animal Husbandry?   

Animal husbandry is scientific management that involves raising and taking care of animals, birds, and fish in a way that promotes the welfare of animals and ensures the quality of their products, like milk, meat, fibre, and other products. It is a broad term known to cover various practices, including breeding, feeding, weeding, and heeding of animals. But what exactly are these practices? Let us understand briefly:    

• Breeding: It is a practice of producing high milk-yielding, egg-yielding, or meat-yielding breeds of animals.   
• Feeding: It deals with feeding animals. It involves selecting the right feed type, method, and animal feed time.   
• Weeding: It is the practice of eliminating uneconomical livestock, birds, or fish.   
• Heeding: It deals with the proper care and management of animal livestock.   

What is the Difference between Animal Husbandry & Livestock?   

Having understood the concept of animal husbandry, let us know the difference between animal husbandry and livestock. So, livestock basically means farm animals raised in an agricultural setting for labour or products. On the contrary, animal husbandry means raising, breeding, and managing animal livestock. Animal husbandry is much broader in scope and involves raising and breeding animals, birds, fish, or insects. On the other hand, livestock Farming usually only includes raising animals to obtain their products.

What are the Different Types of Animal Husbandry?

The types of animal husbandry largely depend on the species of animals being raised. The leading animal husbandry examples are poultry farming, dairy farming, fish farming, and beekeeping.   

Poultry Farming   

Poultry Farming focuses on breeding and raising poultry birds such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese. This branch of animal husbandry is primarily geared towards chicken and egg production.   

Raising poultry requires nutrient-rich feed, which is rich in Vitamin A and Vitamin K. Besides, proper cleaning, sanitation, and disinfectant spraying are necessary to prevent diseases in poultry fowl.  
Besides, poultry fowls can be crossbred to improve the varieties of breeds. For example, the indigenous Aseel can be crossbred with foreign Leghorn to develop new varieties. With the increased demand for poultry products, the scope of the Poultry Farming Business in India has increased.   

Cattle Farming   

Cattle Farming is the practice of breeding and rearing cattle for dairy and draught labour work. Two types of cattle are bred primarily in India: cows and buffaloes.   

Dairy animals are female cattle and are primarily used for milk. Thus, they are also called milch animals. On the other hand, draught animals are domesticated for agricultural work like tilling and irrigating. The cattle are crossbred to produce the improved breeds of cattle that are high milk-yielding and disease-resistant. For instance, exotic or foreign cattle breeds such as Jersey and Brown Swiss are known for longer lactation periods. Thus, these cattle breeds are crossbred with local breeds like Red Sindhi and Sahiwal, which have excellent disease-resistant qualities.  

Beekeeping   

Beekeeping or Apiculture is also among the top animal husbandry types. It is the practice of raising and managing bee colonies. It requires low investment; thus, farmers undertake honey bee farming or Apiculture to generate additional income.   

It is primarily used to produce honey and other bee-related products like beeswax, royal jelly, and propolis. The value, quality and taste of honey is the outcome of the quantity of pasturage and availability of flower and nectar varieties. In India, many varieties of bees are used for the commercial production of honey. Some of them are Indian Bee (Apis cerena indica), Rock Bee (A. dorsata), and Little Bee (A. florae).  

Fish Farming   

Fish farming or Aquaculture is concerned with breeding and rearing fish in controlled environments such as ponds or tanks. The production of fish in India emphasizes true fish and shellfish such as molluscs and prawns.   

Fish can be obtained in two ways. These are capture fishing and culture fishing. The former involves catching the fish directly from natural resources like the sea or river, whereas the latter involves rearing fish in controlled environments like ponds, tanks, or cages. The fisheries sector can further be divided into Marine and Inland Fisheries. Popular marine fish varieties include Mackerel, Sardines, Tuna, Pomphret, and Bombay duck. On the other hand, popular inland fish are Catla, Silver Carp, Rohu, Grass Carp, and Common Carp.   

What is the Status of Animal Husbandry in India?

As per the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, the Indian livestock sector has grown at a CAGR of 12.99% between 2014-15 and 2022-23. The contribution of the livestock sector in total Gross Value Added (GVA) was 5.50% in 2022-23. India ranks first in milk production, second in egg production and fifth in meat production globally. The government has started several animal husbandry and dairying schemes, including:

• Rashtriya Gokul Mission
• National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD)
• National Livestock Mission (NLM)
• Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF)
• Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme (LHDCP)

In 2019, the 20^th Livestock Census was taken up, and it involved the Animal Husbandry Department of all the states and Union Territories to publish a report on the species-wise and state-wise population of livestock. The 21^st Livestock Census was launched on 25^th Oct 2024.

Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries (DADF) 

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying is one of the Departments under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries (DADF) originally came into existence on 1st Feb 1991 by merging two divisions, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development, of the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation into a discrete department. This department’s objective is to work towards empowering the livestock sector through skilled youth, farmers, and entrepreneurs’ livestock management. It is also responsible for issues relevant to the Delhi Milk Scheme (DMS) and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). It advises state governments/union territories on the generation of policies and programmes in the area of animal husbandry and dairy development.

The animal husbandry department has a cycle that begins with identifying the skills needed in livestock, proceeds with developing curriculum and budget, then identifies training partners or infrastructure, introduces skill development programs, and lastly monitors them for evaluation. This will ultimately foster economic prosperity and ensure nutritional security while promoting disease-free zones for enhanced animal health.   

Why is Animal Husbandry Essential?   

• Animal Husbandry is vital for sustaining rural livelihood and increasing agriculture output and national income.    
• It is an essential source of protein as animal meat is rich in dietary protein.   
• Animals like cows, buffaloes, and goats are important sources of milk and dairy products such as cheese, yoghurt, etc.   
• Animal wastes are often used as organic manure, which helps increase crop yield and crop quality.   
• They are also an important source of fibre, like leather and wool.   
• Draught animals are an important source of non-human labour because they are used for tilling, irrigating, transporting, etc.   

What are the Advantages of Animal Husbandry for Indian Farmers?   

Animal husbandry in India has several advantages for its economy, society, and food security. Here are some of the critical advantages of animal husbandry in India:   

• It provides livelihoods and employment opportunities to millions of people residing in rural areas.      
• India is the largest producer of milk globally and provides a continuous supply of milk for consumption, making it a crucial source of high-quality protein.   
• Animal husbandry efforts help conserve and maintain the diverse livestock breeds, ensuring their survival for future generations.
• Livestock, particularly drought-resistant breeds like the Kankrej and Deoni cattle, play a critical role in ensuring stable income, increased productivity and reduced losses in drought-prone regions.   

What Good Animal Husbandry Practices Benefit Farmers?  

• Safe Animal Feed: The microbial contamination, antibiotic residues and adulteration of animal feed is spreading quite vigorously. Therefore, providing animal feed with better nutritional content leads to the welfare of animals, with direct animal health benefits that ultimately benefit the farmers or consumers.    
• Animal Welfare: Animals should be reared in humane conditions. They should not suffer from thirst, hunger, malnutrition, discomfort, pain, stress, fear, injury or diseases. Proper amount of food, shelter, etc., should be provided to them for overall improvement in health and productivity.   
• Disease Prevention: In order to prevent any outbreak of diseases, vaccination programs and regular health check-ups are mandatory to ensure a healthy livestock population.  
• Clean Animal Living Conditions: Maintaining clean, well-ventilated, sound-controlled housing with appropriate temperature and pest control for animals helps prevent diseases and leads to healthy animals.  
• Proper Handling and Transportation: It is important to handle animals gently and ensure proper methods for their transportation to reduce stress and injury.  
• Record Keeping: Detailed records of animal health, feed, and production help monitor and improve farm management practices.

Final Insights

Although the Department of Animal Husbandry is ensuring quick developments, animal husbandry in India is facing several issues like low feed conversion efficiency, nitrogen utilization efficiency, product quality and high methane emissions. The above-mentioned concerns are more eminent for ruminants than for monogastric animals because of their unique digestive system, which needs to be studied better to address the problematic issues. A better understanding of the rumen microbiome-host interaction can provide unique discoveries which will lead to the development of effective approaches to improve animal production and health.