International scenario of livestock with respect to
North East Region of India
Dr. Rameswar Deka
Northeast Food Tech Summit, Guwahati, India, 21 March 2012

Smallholders Livestock: Pathway out of
poverty??
• There are 640 million smallholders and 190 million
pastoralists raising livestock. They are the 70 % of the
world’s poor.
• They are playing a crucial role in conserving at least 13,000
breeds of 40 domesticated livestock species. These breeds
are as fast disappearing as industrial production is spreading.
• Smallholders are believed to be poorly educated, traditional,
and not working along economic considerations.
• They have developed strategies to survive and to make best
use of their environment. They often keep mixed herds of
sheep, goats and cattle, or of several breeds.
• In some of the countries (especially in Africa) smallholders
livestock provides up to 38% of the whole GDP.

Smallholders are at disadvantage
• Large farms could operate more efficiently due to economies
of scale and lower transaction cost.
• Market regulations put smallholders at a disadvantage, like
in Zimbabwe; where the carcass grading system discriminates
against smaller cattle.
• In the Philippines or in Brazil, pig smallholders are in
disadvantaged.
• Smallholders are targeting niche markets. eg. in Vietnam,
local chicken fetch almost double the price of broilers.
• Contract farming is sees as a crucial instrument to integrate
smallholders into the market, an important means to achieve
poverty reduction and economic growth but in reality it is
opposite in many countries (eg. Thailand, Philippines etc).

Changing Trends......
• With liberalization, global trade in livestock products has
grown substantially over the past decade.
• Market power of the mega food companies becomes the
major driving force & determinants of the market.
• Animal diseases (FMD, CBPP, CSF, BF etc.) and associated
regulations (SPS) have become major contributing factors .
• Effects of climate change and emerging diseases increasingly
become important to determine the fate of livestock sector.
• As the commercial sector becomes more and more
industrialized, small farms are going out of business.

Industrial livestock system
• Industrial livestock is dominating in production
- 3/4th of the world’s chicken,
- 2/3rd of milk,
- 1/ 2 half of the eggs,
- 1/3rd of pigs
• Industrial livestock is growing 7 times faster than
smallholder livestock.
• Industrial livestock systems is a result of heavy govt.
support.

Countries having biggest livestock population
Rank Chicken Cattle Pig Sheep
1st China Brazil (189 m) China China
2nd USA India (187 m) USA Australia
3rd Indonesia USA Brazil India
4th Brazil China Vietnam Iran
5th India Ethiopia Germany Sudan

Booming livestock industry!!
• China, is the world’s largest producer of meat (15 mill ton)
while Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of meat ( 9 mill
ton). India produce only 0.6 mill ton.
• India has the highest buffalo population (meat is cheapest
in the world)but failed to become major player in
international market.
• Poultry and pig industries are far developed in China,
Brazil, Thailand and the Philippines.
• China is producing half of the world’s pork.
• China produces 70 mill ton of egg annually compared to 3
mill ton by India and 2 mill by Brazil.

Booming livestock!!
• In India, poultry is the fastest growing livestock (10%) sub-
sector in India but still far below the potential level.
• India has the largest livestock population but has failed to
position itself as major player (poor sanitary condition,
higher incidence of diseases, poor slaughtering
infrastructur).
• India is the highest producer of milk (13% of the global
product) but at the international market it is a minor player.
• Dairy industry in China is growing at 17-18% per annum,
(4-5% in India) & become the 3rd largest milk producing
country in the world after India & US. Pakistan is the 4th
largest dairy producer.

Subsidised livestock industry at the cost of
smallholders!!
• China has spent US$ 2.05 billion in 2007 to support pig
production, including direct subsidies, insurance of fertile
sows and vaccination of animals against major epidemic
diseases. By November 2007, China had insured 21 million
sows, or 45 percent of the herd nationwide.
• Leading livestock (pig) industries are heavily investing in
China.
• In Vietnam and the Philippines, industrialisation of pig
production is heavily subsidized at the expense of the small
scale producer.
• US & EU’s livestock system is already heavily subsidised

Challenges for the developing world
• Tariff and non tariff barriers (import quotas, import licensing
etc.) posing a challenge for the developing world.
• Huge subsidies (export, production, consumption and
storage subsidies) are enjoyed by the farmers of developed
countries
• Most of the developing countries traditionally do not provide
subsidy & they are also not allowed to introduce or increased
subsidies
• SPS measures (eg. health risk arising from additives, toxins,
pathogens etc.) & admin procedures (eg. inspection,
certification) are limiting the scope of export market for
developing countries.
• Cheap imports & dumping lower the domestic product
prices but negatively effect on incomes of million of rural

Consequences
• In Mozambique, cheap import of low quality frozen chicken
is threatening smallholders’ income and consumers’ health.
• FAO had recommended to limit the dumping of US dairy
products in order to protect Peru’s smallholders, but in vain
• Export opportunities for smallholders is for many reasons
usually a dead end.
• Smallholders have not benefited but lost out in Brazil, and it
is not likely that elsewhere they will benefit from export
oriented policies.
• With industrial livestock production systems, the
consumption of concentrate feed is growing in developing
countries and causing food shortage to human.

Smallholder system: is it relevant for NE India?
Yes, because:
• About 80% rural households in NE India rear livestock.
• About 98% of livestock products (except broiler) comes from
smallholders (herd size: 1-5).
• Livestock plays important role in religious/ social customs,
values and believes.
• More than 90% livestock products are marketed by small
traders/ butchers.
• Consumers prefer local fresh & hot livestock products.
• Indigenous livestock products always fetch premium prices
over that of imported one (eg. local chicken, local egg, local
pork)
• There is ready market at the farm gate of smallholders.
• Prices are increasing sharply.
• Significant scope for productivity increase in most smallholder
households.

Livestock sector in NE India’s context
• NE India is largely deficit in egg, pork, milk and goat meat
production. Far below the per national capita availability, which is
again very low in global context.
• Production practices are mainly traditional without much change
over the years.
• Poor extension & input delivery mechanism (about 7% household
getting access to govt. extension services).
• Poor disease control mechanism (about 25% farmers are getting
access to govt. veterinary services).
• Poor physical and bacteriological quality of livestock products
marketed in NE India. Little/ no effort on ensuring food safety &
controlling zoonosis.
• Capacity building programs are weak and mainly lead by by text
book- knowledge.
• Large scale private investment on the livestock is little or
negligible.

Glimpse of ILRI’s research findings
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
% share
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly Undecided
disagree
Rural (n=440) Urban (n=1024)
Consumer attitude “Procuring milk from the vendor/milk man is not safe"
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
% share
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly Undecided
disagree
Rural (n=440) Urban (n=1024)
Consumer attitude “I am happy to pay even the maximum/higher price if the quality and
hygiene of milk can be guaranteed"

Hazard analysis in traditional milk value chain

Glimpse of Pig Appraisal Study findings
Market Efficiency of Pork Marketing
5000
4500
4000
Distribution of marketing cost in Rs.
3500
3000 Profit
Tax & commissions
Slaughter & selling costs
2500
Hidden expenses
Transportation & lairage
2000 Farm gate price
1500
1000
500
0
Dhemaji Golaghat Kamrup Karbi Anglong Kokrajhar
Project districts
Efficiency of Pork Marketing
Meat Type A: 5 yrs ago 2 yrs ago B: Current B/A % B/A %
Adjusted for
actual inflation*
Pork 60-70 70-80 80-100 +38 +19
Chevon 100-120 120-140 140-160 +36 +15
Broiler (dressed) 60-70 70-80 80-90 +31 +13
Indigenous chicken 80-90 90-100 100-120 +29 +10
Changes in Meat Prices (Rs/kg) in Assam over the last five years (2003-2007

Way forward......
“It is good to have an industry which can provide food to million
of people but would be better if it at the same time can
provide employment to million of people”
• Policy suggestion: twin-track approach to livestock sector
development:
– support ‘industrial’ sector for volume & import
substitution
– support ‘smallholder’ sector for value, resource use
optimization, & rural development / poverty alleviation
– Investment on extension & input services, market
infrastructures & stimulus package for investors.
– Massive awareness & capacity building programmes
(Right to Training Act??)

What ILRI is trying to do under this complex
situation?
ILRI’s priority areas for R4D:
• Bring incremental change in the livestock value chain to transform
subsistence production system to market oriented system.
• Increasing the capacity & efficiency of the traditional milk and
meat marketing system to make them competitive.
• Ensure food safety & controlling zoonosis .
• Demonstrate people centric approach for livestock development
and motivate the policy makers to frame right policy for the people.
On Dairy- in Assam:
• Piloting the “Training, certification & monitoring scheme” for all
the actors involved in the traditional dairy value chain.
• Linking the licensing process of municipal corporation with the
training & certification scheme.
• Bringing Health Deptt, Vety Deptt , Dairy Deptt & Municipal Corp.
together for collective & concerted effort.

ILRI’s initiatives in NE India
On Piggery- in Nagaland & Mizoram
• Piloting simple, location specific, integrated, community based
approach for piggery (production & marketing)development.
• Piloting Vety. First Aid services through a brigade of trained
livestock F.A. Practitioners.
• Piloting integrated livestock service delivery model through
community based Livestock Service Provider
• Piloting a model for improving pig nutrition .
• Implementing rigorous customised capacity building programmes.
On backyard poultry- in Nagaland
• Promoting Vanaraja birds using the above principles/ practices.
Others:
• Comprehensive study on Assam’s dairy sector & Nagaland &
Assam’s pig sub-sector
• Developed various training manual for dairy and pig sub- sectors.
• Policy advocacy (both for dairy & piggery)
• Building linkages & coordination among different organisations.

ILRI’s intended plan for future .......
• Work on smallholder dairy value chain in a 3/4 states of India
under ILRI’s global Research Program on livestock and fish.
• Provide technical support to govt. deptt/ other organisations
in India for scaling out the training, certification & monitoring
scheme for milk vendors and butchers
• Replicate the simple, cost effective, integrated piggery
development model in other parts of NE India with govt.
support.
• Work on the control of zoonotic and emerging diseases
through prevalence survey, participatory disease
surveillance, design & delivery of training to target group.
• Extend helping hands to the govt. deptt/ other organisation
on planning and monitoring development projects.