20th Livestock Census
2022 MAY 9
Preliminary >
Agriculture > Allied areas > Livestock rearing
Why in news?
- Government Releases Breed-Wise Report of Livestock & Poultry Based on 20th Livestock Census
About Livestock Census:
- Livestock Census is conducted once in 5 years by the Animal Husbandry Statistics Division under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
- The livestock census aims to collect information about all the livestock along with their age, sex composition, etc. The information on the following is also collated through livestock census:
- Poultry
- Animal operated agricultural implements and
- Machinery and fishery statistics
- The Livestock Census has been conducted in the country periodically since 1919-20.
- It covers all domesticated animals and their headcounts.
- The household-level data through online transmission from the field has been used for the first time in 20th Livestock Census.
Key highlights of 20th Livestock Census:
- The total Livestock population is 535 million in the country showing an increase of 4.6% over Livestock Census-2012.
- West Bengal observed the highest increase of 23%, followed by Telangana (22%).
- Share of species:
- 35.94% - Cattle, 27.80% - Goat, 20.45% - Buffaloes, 13.87% -Sheep and 1.69%- Pigs.
- Mithun, Yaks, Horses, Ponies, Mules, Donkeys and Camels taken together contribute 0.23% of the total livestock.
State wise – livestock population:
???????
Cattle population
- Exotic/Crossbred cattle population is 50.42 million
- The population of the total exotic/crossbred cattle has increased by 27% in 20th Census.
- Cross-bred animals contributed around 28% to India’s total milk production in 2018-19.
- The milch population of exotic and crossbred cattle such as Jersey or Holsteins shows higher milk yields and thus farmers prefer animals yielding more milk.
- Indigenous cattle population is 142.11 million
- A decline of 6% in the total indigenous cattle population has been observed in this census.
- The total number of cattle in the country has shown an increase of 0.8 %.
- The increase is mainly driven by a sharp increase in cross-bred cattle and higher female indigenous cattle population.
- State wise:
- West Bengal has seen the highest rise of 15% in cattle population.
- Uttar Pradesh has observed a maximum decrease in cattle population.
Add ons:
- The backyard poultry has increased by around 46%.
- The sharp increase in backyard poultry is a significant change in the rural landscape which shows a sign of poverty alleviation.
PRACTICE QUESTION
Consider the following statements regarding ‘20th Livestock Census’:
1. Uttar Pradesh has highest share of livestock population in India
2. India has more exotic/crossbred cattle population than indigenous cattle population
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer