21st Livestock Census May Be Held in September-December

Aug 12, 2024 05:04 AM IST

The federal government will conduct the 21st livestock census between September and December 2024 to update animal numbers, identify breeds and support decision-making in the crucial livestock sector.

The federal government will conduct the country’s 21st livestock census between September and December 2024. It will be a five-year effort to provide the latest data on pet and poultry numbers and identify breeds through visits to households, home businesses and commercial farms.

India has one of the largest cattle populations in the world, and animal husbandry contributes 5.5% of the country's gross domestic product (ANI). — India has one of the largest cattle populations in the world, and animal husbandry contributes 5.5% of the country’s gross domestic product (ANI).

The census is crucial for policy-making, increasing productivity and infrastructure development in a sector that is an “important pillar of the Indian economy,” said Alka Upadhyaya, secretary of animal husbandry and dairying.

India has one of the largest cattle populations in the world, and animal husbandry accounts for 5.5% of the country’s gross domestic product. The sector supports millions of farmers in the world’s largest milk producer. India is also the world’s second-largest egg producer.

The census will be digitised, and training sessions with technical experts are being held across the country, the official said. The data will be collected by nearly 80,000 surveyors on mobile devices, which will be quickly transmitted for faster results. The census went digital in 2019, when the previous census was conducted.

The livestock economy accounts for 30% of the agricultural sector’s gross value added, or GVA, a measure of growth that excludes net taxes. Farmers earn much more on average from livestock than from crops, according to the agriculture ministry.

The census will help identify breeds with high economic potential, and its data are a key element of the “Report on Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals – National Indicator Framework” prepared by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

The 21st cattle comes in the wake of a devastating outbreak of lumpy skin disease in cattle in 2022-23 that is estimated to have killed or maimed up to one million cattle. The census will help provide a reliable estimate of the number of victims of the epidemic, a second official said.

The 20th census put the country’s livestock population at 535.78 million, of which 192.49 million were cattle and 109.85 million were buffalo. The poultry population in 2019 was 851.81 million, including 317.07 million backyard birds and 534.74 million in commercial farms. The census is based on the breed scheme developed by the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, the official said, requesting anonymity.