Envis Centre, Ministry of Environment & Forest, Govt. of India

Livestock Development: Livestock sector in Kerala is livelihood intensive and also a major contributor to Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), it could be as high as 40 percent of the agricultural GSDP in Kerala. Contribution of livestock sector to the GSDP, is not made visible because it is always clubbed with Agriculture and allied sectors. Livestock production has been traditionally practiced in the State mainly as an extensive, low input subsistence system integrated with crop production. The subtle changes emerging in the sector calls for reorientation in the approach for future development and growth.

Major Livestock Products in Kerala

                   Milk, meat and egg are the major livestock products in the State. The production of these three livestock products during 2017-18 to 2022-23 is shown below:

Production of milk, egg and meat from 2017-18 to 2022-23

Milk production

                 India ranked 1^st in milk production, contributing 24 per cent of global milk production. At the national-level, milk production has increased from 22.21 crore tonnes in 2021-22 to 23.06 crore tonnes in 2022-23, registering a growth of 3.83 per cent, sustaining the trend over the past three decades. The highest five milkproducing states in India in 2022-23 were Uttar Pradesh (15.72 percent) Rajasthan (14.44 Percent) Madhya Pradesh (8.73 per cent), Gujarat (7.49 per cent), and Andhra Pradesh (6.70 per cent), which together contributed 53.08 per cent of total milk production in the country. (The average yield per animal per day for exotic crossbred is 8.55 Kg per day and for indigenous/non-descript is 3.44 Kg per day (Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics, 2023).

              The per capita availability of milk has been increasing in India over the years and is estimated at 459 grams/day in 2022-23 (Basic AH Statistics 2023 by DAHD, GOI). The highest per capita availability is in Punjab (1283 grams per day) followed by Rajasthan (1138 grams per day). The species-wise milk production in the country shows that nearly 31.94 per cent of total milk production is contributed by indigenous buffaloes, followed by cross-bred cattle 29.81 per cent. The indigenous cattle contribute 10.73 per cent of the total milk production in the country. Goat milk contributes 3.30 per cent of the total milk production (Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics, 2023).

                  Kerala ranks 15^th among the milk-producing states. Kerala’s per capita availability is 198 grams per day (Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics, 2023). The total milk requirement in Kerala in 2022- 23 was 33.51 lakh metric tonnes. But the annual production was only 25.32 lakh metric tonnes, which resulted in an average outside purchase of 1.34 lakh litres of milk per day. Out of 25.32 lakh MT of milk produced in the State, a major share was produced by cross bred cattle (93.56 per cent). Indigenous cattle produced only 0.04 MT of milk (0.16 per cent). The contribution of nondescript cattle was 0.24 MT (0.95 per cent). The milk production from goats was 1.23 MT (4.86 per cent). Indigenous and non-descript buffaloes contributed the rest Details of species-wise milk production in Kerala in 2022-23 are given below:
 

Species wise milk production in Kerala in 2022-23

                          Even though the herd sizes are low compared to major milk-producing states, cattle productivity in Kerala is higher than the national average. The average milk yield per In-Milk animal of Exotic/ Crossbred cows in India in 2022-23 is 8.55 Kg/ day/animal. For indigenous cattle and non-descript cattle, it is) 3.44 kg/day/animal. The yield rate from Exotic/crossbred in Kerala is 10.77 kg per day, and 3.21 kg/day/animal from Indigenous/ Non-Descript. The third highest among the Indian states after Punjab (13.49 kg/day/animal) and Chandigarh 12.22 kg/day/animal (Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2023). This advantage for Kerala was due to high per cent of exotic and crossbred animals in the population compared to other states.  

 

Egg Production

                Egg and meat production in India has taken a quantum leap in the last four decades, emerging from an unscientific farming practice to a commercial production system with state of the art technological interventions. According to Food and Agriculture Organization Statistics (FAOSTAT) production data for 2023, India ranks third globally in egg production. Total egg production in India has increased from 129600 crore in 2021-22 to 138376 crore in 2022-23 registering a growth of 6.77 per cent. There has been a steady increase in the per capita availability of eggs since 2000-01. In 2022-23 the largest producer of eggs was Andhra Pradesh, which produces 20.13 per cent of total egg production in the country, followed by Tamil Nadu (15.58 per cent) and Telangana (12.77 per cent). Other states contributing a major share of the country’s egg production include West Bengal (9.93 per cent) and Karnataka (6.51 per cent). Kerala contributes 1.62 per cent to the total egg production in the country. The highest per capita availability of egg is in Andhra Pradesh (526 eggs per annum) followed by Telangana (466 eggs per annum) and Tamil Nadu (281 eggs per annum).

                     Kerala ranks 14^th among the States of India, in egg production. The production of egg increased from 22.30 crore in 2021-22 to 22.475 crore in 2022-23 (Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics, 2023). The per capita availability of eggs in our State was 63 eggs per annum in 2022-23 which is lower than the country average of 101eggs per annum (Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2023).

                   According to Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics, 2023, about 59 per cent of the total eggs produced in the State are from Improved ducks and around 34 per cent are from improved fowls, 5 per cent from Desi ducks and 2 per cent from Desi fowls. The details of species wise egg production in Kerala is shown in Figure 3.3.3.

Species wise egg production in Kerala 2022-23

Meat Production:

                    Meat production has witnessed a steady increase over the last ten years in our country. India ranks 8^th in meat production in the world. Meat production in the country has increased by 5.13 per cent from 9.29 million tonnes in 2021-22 to 9.77 million tonnes in 2022-23. The largest producer of meat in the country in the year 2022-23 was Uttar Pradesh producing 12.20 per cent of the total meat followed by West Bengal (11.93 per cent), Maharashtra (11.50 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (11.20 per cent) and Telangana (11.06 per cent). These states together contribute 57.90 per cent of total meat production in the country in this period. Kerala’s contribution to the total meat production in the country is 4.84 per cent in 2022-23 (Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2023). Species-wise meat contribution shows that 51.14 per cent of meat production in the country is contributed by poultry in the year 2022-23. Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra are the country’s largest meat producers in 2022-23 with 12.20, 11.93 & 11.50 percentage respectively. Kerala contributes 3.19 per cent in total meat production. In India’s total meat production, meat from cattle and buffalo accounts for 2.55 per cent and 18.51 per cent, respectively. Meat production from goat,sheep, pig and poultry is 15.21, 11.05, 4.05 percent and 53.76 percent respectively. In Kerala, majority of the meat is produced from cattle with 42.92 per cent in 2022-23 (Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics, 2023).

                        In the 13^th Five-Year Plan, meat production in Kerala was 23.01 lakh MT. The floods of 2018 and 2019 and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected the sector. Total meat production in 2022-23 was 4.74 lakh MT. The total requirement of meat in the State in 2022-23 was 8.75 lakh MT. Domestic demand for meat has been growing at a faster rate. In this context, expanding the “Kerala Chicken” scheme is essential over the next five years. A scheme to encourage growing of male calves should also be thought of in this regard. Species-wise meat production in Kerala is shown below: 

Species wise meat production in Kerala 2022-23

                      Source: Animal Husbandry Department GoK 2023

 

Trend in Livestock Population:

                   The growth rate of cattle population in India was persistently positive up to the year 1992 might be due to the extensive cross-breeding and various development schemes and extension programs implemented by the Department of Animal Husbandry. However, the population shifted to a decreasing trend for the period 1992-97.The reasons for the decrease in cattle population in India might be due to rapid urbanization, decrease in grazing land, decrease in the supply of agricultural labour, the non-remunerative price for milk, decrease in the indigenous population, etc. The buffalo population in the country was found to be in constant positive growth rate. The sheep population in India has improved gradually at a positive rate for the first three periods (1951-56, 1956-61 and 1961-66), followed by a decline in the period 1966-72, again had a dip during the period 1982-87 and finally showed a positive trend till now. The gradual increase in growth of the sheep population might be associated with the steady increase in demand for mutton by the consumers and the lowest disease incidence among small ruminants compared to other livestock species.

               It was peculiar to note that the goat population continued to increase from the initial period. The reasons for the positive trend in goat population in India might be connected with an increase in demand for chevon by the consumers, easy management practices for goats over other livestock species, the high remunerative price for chevon over other products, etc. The pig population in India had a positive trend overall the duration except during the periods 1961-66 and 2004-07 but during the last inter-census period, the growth rate in the pig population was found to be negative. The reasons might be due to reluctance by the entrepreneurs to start a pig farm because of socio-cultural inhibition and inadequate financial availabilities.

Fisheries Sector:

                  Fisheries is a prime and growing sector that plays a significant role in a developing economy by providing livelihood to millions of fish workers. Besides augmenting nutrition, it helps in generating employment and revenue. It is an intensive sector that is becoming more and more attractive to investors because of its low capital investment requirements, short gestation period and generation of high profit. Currently India is the third largest fish producing country in the world and accounts for 7.96 per cent of the global production. The sector has been one of the major contributors of foreign exchange earnings, with India being one of the leading seafood exporting nations in the world. In 2022-23, the export improved in quantity terms by 26.73 per cent. India is also a major producer of fish through aquaculture and ranks second in the world after China. Fishing industry of Kerala which comprises of fish catching, processing and marketing has the potential to generate employment to the tune of 566 lakh man days per year.

                  The fisheries sector plays an important role in the economy of the State. The share of fisheries sector in the total Gross State Value Added (GSVA at constant price) in 2022-23 constitutes 0.98 per cent and accounts for 0.84 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). Fisheries and aquaculture contributes 11.47 per cent of the GSVA (constant prices 2022-23 (Q)) from the agriculture and allied sectors. Details regarding the contribution of fisheries sector in GSVA are given below: