Principles and Techniques of Veterinary and AH Extension

SHEEP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES 

• Sheep rearing plays a major role in the rural economy and to uplift the people below poverty line.

Objectives of sheep development programmes

• To improve the socio-economiccondition of the rural population in the area of operation through sheep husbandrypractices.
• To provide adequate employment for under-employedpeople in villages through development of small scale cottage industries basedon sheep production.
• Provision of adequate infrastructure supportincluding pasture / fodder development for the improvement of sheep, import ofexotic breeds of sheep and establishment of exotic breeding farm and rammultiplication farms.
• To bring about improvement in the economic traits ofsheep by effective genetic improvement through scientific breeding for moremutton and carpet wool production.
• Distribution of improved rams to selected breedersfor breed improvement.
• Provision of in-service training to farmers andproject staff, to improve the scientific methods of sheep management practices.
• To augment quality mutton production throughimprovement in the sheep population.
• Improvement of facilities in respect of health cover,field veterinary extension services and research.
• Improvement of marketing system of sheep
• Improvement of selected slaughter houses for hygienic mutton production.
• Ensuring an effective supervised credit programme forsmall holders to promote breed improvement, sheep production and marketingthrough viable farmers, cooperative societies and their federation.

Five Year Plans and sheep development

• During thesecond five-year plan period breeding policy for sheep was evolved whichincluded.
  • Selective breeding.
  • Upgrading of non-descriptive breeds with superiorbreeds.
  • Cross breeding with foreign breeds in selected hillyareas.
• In the third plan period, new sheep breeding farmswere established. Old farms expanded and quality rams were supplied to thefarmers. Further during the fourth plan period, sheep and woolly Extensioncentres and wool grading-cum marketing centres were established. In the Fifth plan period, cross breeding withwooly type sheep was encouraged. Various programmes were launched during theother plan period also. During the ninth plan period, the production of woolwas increased from 43.3 million kg in 1996-97 to 49 million kg in 2001-02. Thefine wool production in the country is around 4 million kg.
• The programme of providing exotic malesfor improvement of sheep in the northern temperate region will continue in theTenth Plan. A new CentrallySponsored Scheme "Conservation of threatened livestock breeds of smallruminants, pack animals and equine" to conserve and protect threatenedbreeds of livestock, has been initiated during 10th Plan. Under the scheme,assistance is provided to the States for the conservation of sheep, goat, pigs,camels, yak, horse, donkey and ponies. The grant is given through the StateGovernments to the State Government farms / State Government Undertakings /Boards / Federations / Government Institutes like ICAR, etc. / NGOs / Self-helpGroups / farmers / breeders / professional scientists of repute involved inconservation work.

Other programmes

• The government isimplementing sheep development programmes through state Animal HusbandryDepartments, Rural Development Departments and other Social WelfareDepartments. The sheep development programmes like,
  • Special Animal Husbandry Programme
  • Special Assistance Programme
  • Special Central Livestock Breeding Programme
  • Intensive Health Cover for Sheep and
  • EEC assisted sheep development projects were financedby Central and State governments.
• Apart fromthis assistance was given through other programmes like SFDA, DPAP, HADP, ITDP,IRDP, etc.

Constraints

• Most of the beneficiaries are selected wrongly andthe unit cost was found to be inadequate.
• Exploitation by middlemen in the purchase of sheep.
• Untimely assistance and diversion of the loan amount.
• Absence of sufficient fodder banks to meet the demandduring drought and also reduction in grazing lands.
• Inadequate infrastructure in production and marketingof sheep and their byproducts, lack of modernization of abattoirs orslaughterhouses and carcass utilization plants.