new-paradigm-in-animal-husbandry-summary

Context: The Central government unveiled the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) .

  • This is the first major fund launched by the government that includes a diverse set of stakeholders such as FPOs, private dairy players, individual entrepreneurs, and non-profits within its ambit.

About Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) 

  • The AHIDF has been set up with an outlay of ₹15,000 crore. 
  • As per the provisions of AHIDF, a project will be eligible for a loan amount that covers up to 90% of the estimated cost.
  • It provides an interest subvention of 3% for all eligible entities. 
  • Applicants can submit the proposal with a complete Detailed Project Report through the Udyami Mitra Portal. 

Benefits:

  • Boosting the sector will bring social, economic, and nutritional benefits.
  • Macro benefits regarding climate change and employment are linked to this sector. 
    • Enhanced infrastructure can make processing units more energy-efficient and help mitigate their carbon footprint. 
  • The AHIDF also has the potential to create over 30 lakh jobs, even as it overhauls domestic infrastructure towards giving greater prominence to India’s dairy and livestock products.
  • The AHIDF has been designed to support the establishment of animal feed plants of varying capacities – including setting up of mineral mixture plants, silage making units, and animal feed testing laboratory. 
  • To spur on innovative solutions, the Ministry in collaboration with Invest India has invited ideas from domestic start-ups for the development of new varieties of green fodder and enriched animal feed. 

Significance of the animal husbandry and dairy sector:

  • As an allied industry of agriculture, the animal husbandry and dairy sector collectively employs more than 100 million people. 
  • Since the bulk of establishments in this sector is concentrated in rural India, the socio-economic relevance of this sector cannot be overstated.
  • India is the fourth largest chicken meat producer and the second largest egg producer in the world and is well-positioned to help mitigate rampant malnutrition given that chicken meat provides the cheapest source of protein per unit. 

Way forward:

  • The Infrastructure investments are necessary to boost productivity levels and fill critical gaps in production. 
  • Strengthen dairy value chain: There is a pressing need to enhance chilling infrastructure at collection centres by setting up bulk milk coolers to prevent wastage of milk. 
    • Currently, there is an infrastructure gap of about 120-130 MMT, which translates into an investment potential of approximately ₹20,000 crore. 
  • There is also considerable potential to increase the productivity of cattle, especially by enhancing the quality of animal feed. 
    • The infrastructure gap of 10-18 MMT in the production and supply of affordable compound cattle feed translates into an investment potential of around ₹5,000 crore.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/new-paradigm-in-animal-husbandry/article33907193.ece