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Sustainable Development of Smallholder Dairy Farming in Himachal Himalaya: Economic, Technological and Environmental Dimensions, Dr. Ranveer Singh and Dr. C.S. Vaidya, AERC, HPU.

The livestock sector plays a crucial role in the overall development of Indian economy. Though during the last two decades the contribution of agriculture and allied activities to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has declined, the contribution of livestock sector has exhibited continuous improvement. This is largely due to the sustained annual growth rate of 5 percent in milk production and 7 percent in poultry. By far the most significant aspect of growth in the livestock sector is the role played by it in improving the economic lot of rural millions.The focus of the study is to provide a better understanding of the prevailing dairy production, processing and marketing systems in mountain areas. The main objectives are to study the growth trend and dynamics of population of milch animals in Himachal Pradesh; to analyse the small dairy production systems in the state; to study the processing and marketing systems of milk and milk products in the state; to analyse the consumption, consumer behaviour and preference towards dairy products; to examine the role of women and contribution of natural resources based inputs in dairy enterprise. Reducing farm income inequalities, improving milch animal production efficiency through reduction in numbers and improvement in quality of animals, and meeting feed needs of dairy animals without environmental and natural resource degradation on CPRs are the major policy issues in livestock planning and management in Himachal Pradesh.

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