The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) released a census report of livestock population on October 16, 2019. The census data reveals that the livestock population in India has grown by 4.6 per cent from 512 million in 2012 to about 536 million in 2019 and the population of cows showed an impressive increase of 18 per cent over the previous census in 2012. The numbers of other cattle have marginally increased, but cows are accounted for one-fourth of the total livestock population of India.
However, the data clearly shows that India’s indigenous (desi) cattle numbers continue to decline, despite the government’s efforts to promote conservation of desi breeds through the Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM). The total population of indigenous and nondescript cattle is estimated at 139.82 million in 2019, which is 6 per cent lower than 151.17 million in the 2012 census and it has been falling since 1992 when it was at the peak—at 189.37 million.
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The main objectives of the Rashtriya Gokul Mission included: (1) development and conservation of indigenous breeds; (2) breed improvement programme for indigenous cattle breeds to improve their genetic makeup and increase the stock; (3) enhancement of milk production and productivity; (4) upgradation of nondescript cattle using elite indigenous breeds like Gir, Sahiwal, Rathi, Deoni, Tharparkar, Red Sindhi; and (5) distribution of disease-free high genetic merit bulls for natural service.
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The 2019 data show that the number of female cattle is 145.12 million, which is 18 per cent over the 122.98 million in 2012. The number of male cattle, on the other hand, dropped to 47.4 million as against 67.92 million in 2012. Significantly, the male-to-female cattle ratio in the 2019 survey dropped to 1:3 from 1:1.8 in the 2012 livestock survey.
On the contrary, the population of total exotic/crossbred cattle has increased by 26.9 per cent in 2019 as compared to previous census. West Bengal has seen the highest rise of 15 per cent in cattle population. The population of the total exotic/crossbred cattle has increased by 27 per cent. Cross-bred animals contributed around 28 per cent to India’s total milk production in 2018–19. The milch population of exotic and crossbred cattle such as Jersey or Holstein shows higher milk yields, and thus farmers prefer animals yielding more milk. Due to higher yields, foreign breeds constitute more than half the population of milch animals. The more the number of animals that produce milk, the more would be the pressure on land and fiercer would be the competition between man and animals for survival.
The figures show that nearly 75 per cent of total cattle in the country are female (cows)—a clear sign of the preference for milk-producing cattle. This trend has, in fact, gained momentum since 2017 due to the government providing sex-sorted artificial insemination (AI), with semen of high-yielding bulls, free of cost at farmers’ doorstep.
Therefore, though India has a large indigenous bovine population with 40 well-defined breeds, including Gir, Red Sindhi, Sahiwal, and Deoni, the 2019 Livestock survey finds that the male population of indigenous cattle has undergone a particularly sharp decline, falling 29 per cent since last census. India’s indigenous cattle population now stands at 14.21 crore, down from 15.17 crore in the last census.
It is worthy to note that states with some of the toughest laws against cow slaughter have witnessed the sharpest decline in cattle populations! Uttar Pradesh, where cow slaughter can lead to seven years’ jail and/or ` 10,000 fine, has registered an almost 4 per cent decline in cattle population, to 1.87 crore from 1.96 crore. The decline has been 10 per cent, from 1.55 crore, to 1.39 crore in Maharashtra, where cow, bullock, and bull slaughter is punishable with five years’ jail and/or ` 10,000 fine.
The data does not suggest any pact of the anti-slaughter policies of the BJP government since 2014, whether at the centre or in the states. Falling numbers of desi cattle and rise in buffalo numbers is not new; it has been happening in the past.
The fall in population has many causes. Presently, India is left with a low amount of healthy semen to breed indigenous cattle. If India had healthy semen of Indian bulls, it would not have had to import the germoplast of Gir bulls from Brazil. In 2018, a MoU was signed with for 1 lakh doses of frozen Gir bull semen for artificial insemination. Some experts say India’s failure to increase indigenous populations is because of their lower milk yields, as compared to the Holstein-Friesian which gives a minimum of 50 per cent higher yield.
In contrast, the exotic and crossbred cattle population has jumped by 29.5 per cent, from 39.73 million in 2012 to 51.47 million in 2019. The increase is more than 238 per cent (from 15.22 million to 51.47 million) between 1992 and 2019, a period that witnessed a 26 per cent plunge in the numbers for indigenous/nondescript breeds (from 189.37 million to 139.82 million).
All this is clearly a reflection of the farmers’ preference for animals yielding more milk. A typical desi Gir, Sahiwal, or Red Sindhi cow gives only 1,500–2,000 litres over a 300–305 days lactation cycle, compared to 7,000–8,000 litres by exotic breeds such as Holstein-Friesian and Jersey and the 4,000–4,500 litres of crossbreds. Also, the average age of first calving/lactation for exotic/crossbred cows is only about 28 months, as against more than 40 months for desi breeds.
Livestock Population—2019
Category Population 2019 Population 2012 Growth per cent
(in million) (in million)
Cattle 192.49 190.90 0.83
Buffalo 109.85 108.70 1.06
Sheep 74.26 65.07 14.13
Goat 148.88 135.17 10.14
Pig 9.06 10.29 –1203
Mithun 0.38 0.30 26.66
Yak 0.06 0.08 –25.00
Horse & Ponies 0.34 0.63 –45.58
Mule 0.08 0.20 –57.09
Donkey 0.12 0.32 –61.23
Camel 0.25 0.40 –37.05
Total Livestock 535.78 512.06 4.63
Livestock Census The Livestock Census has been conducted in the country periodically since 1919-20. Since then it has been conducted once every 5 years. It covers all domesticated animals and their headcounts. So far, 19 such censuses have been conducted by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, in participation with state governments and UT administrations. The household-level data through online transmission from the field has been used for the first time in the 20th Livestock Census. The census is beneficial not just for policymakers but also for agriculturists, traders, entrepreneurs, and dairying industry.
According to the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, more than 80,000 people were deployed for the livestock census. They collected data from more than 27 crore household and non-household. This time, the livestock census was done through tabs.