Livestock Production in Rainfed Regions as Influenced by Climatic Variability

Kumar, Shalander; Chand, Khem

Livestock Production in Rainfed Regions as Influenced by Climatic Variability

2013

Kumar, Shalander | Chand, Khem

The paper has analyzed the sensitivity of livestock productivity to climatic variability in the rainfed regions, and has discussed the significance of climate change wrt Indian livestock. It has also outlined the mitigation and adaptation strategies. The study is based on the district level data on milk productivity of cows and buffaloes for the years 1992 and 1997 for 100 rainfed districts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. In the case of buffalo, a positive and highly significant coefficient for annual rainfall has indicated that increase in annual rainfall would increase the milk productivity of buffaloes through increased feed and fodder production. A negative and significant coefficient of wet-day frequency suggests that more number of rainy days would influence milk productivity negatively in the case of buffaloes. A positive and highly significant coefficient of percentage of crossbred in the total cattle population has indicated that it to be the most important factor influencing district level milk productivity of cows. The study has shown that weather variables like rainfall, temperature and wet-day frequency significantly influence the milk productivity of animals in the rainfed regions. Hence, there is need to evolve appropriate adaptation strategies specifically focused on mitigation of feed scarcity situations arising due to climatic variability.

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