Vol. 11, Special Issue 7 (2022)

Author(s):
Chitra Juniwal, Aaqib R Khan, Athul Ganesh, Reanne M Carvalho and Saurabh Karunamay

Abstract:
To maintain a good livestock enterprise with steady income, it is essential to have animals with good reproductive status. India is the leading producer of milk worldwide and contributes 23% of the global milk production. 4-5% of India’s economy is accounted for by the dairy industry which directly employs a large population of rural farmers. In spite of India having a high livestock population and milk production, the productivity per animal is low. In India, the most common factors affecting the reproduction include breeding management, feeding management and reproductive health of the animal. Various reproductive disorders, delayed uterine involution, and extended calving intervals result in decreased milk production, loss in the number of calves, and increased medication costs, which ultimately results in financial loss for the dairy sector. Overcoming these constraints will result in a good return from the livestock sector. Improvement in a range of livestock services such as health care, nutrition, breeding management, pharmaceutical supply and extension services are needed in order to allow the farmer to extract the full potential from livestock.