The role of livestock in India's food security strategy

Historically, discussions on food security in India have focused on ensuring sufficient calories, but today the focus is shifting toward the availability of nutritious food and high-quality proteins. Despite the successes of the "Green Revolution," current government programs such as the NFSA and PDS remain primarily oriented toward grain crops.

Livestock farming, which has shown an annual growth of 7–7.4% since 2014–15, accounts for over 30% of the gross value added in agriculture. The success of the dairy industry, where the development of cooperatives and measures under "Operation Flood" increased per capita milk consumption from 107 grams per day in 1970 to 459 grams in 2022–23, demonstrates the effectiveness of institutional interventions. Similar strategies aimed at connecting producers to organized markets could be applied to poultry, small ruminant farming, and fisheries.

For smallholder and marginal families, livestock farming is a key economic resource that provides income and empowers rural women. However, the sector remains vulnerable to climate risks and epidemics. The example of the 2025 floods in Punjab, which resulted in the loss of 1,000 head of cattle and 35,000 head of poultry, as well as the loss of feed bases, highlights the shortage of insurance and compensation systems, which are significantly less developed for livestock farmers than for crop farmers.

Current government policy is characterized by fragmentation: livestock issues are distributed among various departments. Furthermore, milk and meat producers, unlike grain producers, do not have Minimum Support Price (MSP) guarantees and remain exposed to market instability. Specialists emphasize the need for a comprehensive approach that integrates access to credit, insurance, feed supply, and developed market infrastructure. In the context of declining per capita arable land, integrating livestock farming into the core of food policy is seen as a way to ensure both nutritional value and the economic sustainability of rural producers.