Atul Chaturvedi, Secretary, Ministry of fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying in an interview said that the Central government will soon launch a scheme worth Rs. 5000 crore to promote entrepreneurship in the Animal Husbandry sector. The aim is to increase productivity and reduce input costs.
He added that now the target will be to encourage more investments in this sector instead of just mitigating poverty.
The scheme will initially run for five years and seeks to create a chain of entrepreneurs who will breed quality farm animals including cows, buffaloes, goats and pigs, and sell them to farmers.
Chaturvedi added that the Centre will provide up to 50% subsidy to entrepreneurs, and they can take the advantage of bank loans to meet capital expenditure requirements, for buying breeds and technology.
He said, “We want to replicate the success of private hatcheries prevalent in the poultry industry without government intervention. Livestock output has been growing at 8% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) for the last few years and it has the potential to grow at double digits if properly encouraged and incentivized, and in turn, can lead to increasing farmers’ income 3-4 times. And it will serve as one more forward step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat.”
Quality green fodder is available only for two to three months in the year. So, the government seeks to create rural entrepreneurs for producing cheaper fodder by converting green fodder into silage, and it will be available throughout the year at cheaper prices.
“And, the Centre is looking at the hub-and-spoke model. Farmers can grow the fodder between two crop seasons and entrepreneurs can process it using machinery and convert it into silage and sell it nearby at one-tenth the price of concentrate feed,” said Chaturvedi.
