The Indian livestock industry will be facing with a lot of challenges in the coming decades. The per capita consumption of meat, milk and eggs is expected to double by 2020. Globally, the demand for food of animal origin will increase. There will be a shift of live stock production from temperate and dry areas to warm and humid areas. Animal feed will be more cereal based and it is expected that the average annual growth of cereal based feed use will be around 10%. With this scenario, India would offer a huge market for animal products as well as animal feed since it is the second largest food producer after China. Hence there is a tremendous opportunity for India to be a leading exporter. India would need to become very competitive in a world of globalised trade. Can India meet the challenges of increasing high quality productions as well as productive efficiency?
Biotechnological interventions can play a vital role not only in the productions but also in environmental protection and sustainability. Genetically modified feeds can improve water and soil quality by reducing levels of phosphorus and nitrogen in animal waste. In order to acquire state of art technology to achieve this goal India needs to strengthen its R & D efforts, quality control, and introduction of HACCP and ISO standards. The strengths of the Indian biotech sector are mainly excellent scientific infrastructure in agriculture, trained man power, knowledge base, rich biodiversity and low cost of production. Hence an integrated approach to livestock development would be required, as no single option would provide the answer for achieving the goal in an eco-friendly, cost effective and sustainable manner.
