Livestock & Poultry

Livestock and Animal Husbandry:

There is a vast potential for growth in this sector. Currently, the production of Milk, Eggs and Meat is not sufficient to meet local consumption needs. There is a huge outflow of funds to procure the above from the other states of India. To overcome this deficiency, the Animal Husbandry departments have introduced a wide range of schemes, which will augment production in this sector along with creating employment opportunities.

Livestock and Poultry as per Livestock Census 2003:

(in '000 number)

Source: 17 ^th Livestock Census, Department of Animal Husbandry

Estimates of Milk Production:

('000 tonnes)

Source: Department of Animal Husbandry

Estimates of Egg Production:

(Lakh Nos.)

Source: Department of Animal Husbandry

Estimates of Meat Production:

('000 tonnes)

Source: Department of Animal Husbandry

Livestock rearing is an important aspect of tribal life in the region. Although the livestock population of the NE states is high, large scale imports, especially of pigs and cattle, are made from the neighbouring plains because of the huge demand.

Assam has the highest livestock population among the NE states. In the hilly terrains of the NE states, the dependence on livestock for meat is very high. Pigs serve as the primary source of meat in most of the hilly areas and in such areas pigs outnumber cattle.

In Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram and Tripura, most of the cattle are of indigenous stock and there are few cross-breeds. Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya, on the other hand, have a sizable population of cross-breed farm animals. In Assam, Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya, the cattle population is larger than the population of pigs and goat combined. Assam has a sizable population of buffaloes which are used for agricultural purposes.