Animal provide food and all necessary items required for humans so the subject has huge importance and wider scope.
Importance of livestock and poultry farming in Nepal
Q. Discuss the importance and problems of livestock production in Nepal.( AFU board, 2075)
Q. Explain the importance, and constraints of livestock farming in contest of the Nepalese farming system. (AFU board, 2076)
Role of livestock in Nepalese economy
In terms of income, employment, and equity, the livestock sector is an important part of the Nepalese economy. It contributes 27 percent of Nepal's national GDP. The demand for animal products has expanded significantly in Nepal as a result of economic growth and rising affluence. Livestock covers the animal husbandry, dairy, and fisheries industries, all of which are significant main sectors that contribute significantly to the country's economy and socioeconomic development. The following are the several ways livestock contributes to the national economy:
1. Sources of nutrition (Milk, meat and eggs): source of protein through the consumption of milk, milk products, eggs, meat, etc. It also acts as important source of cash income for farmers.
2. Sources of manure: Farmyard manure is being prepared by the slurry from shed and dung of animals. The dung of animals is used to enrich the soil fertility.
3. Sources of draught power: Yaks, donkeys, mules, sheep, and goats are utilized to transport things in the hills and mountains. Bullocks and buffalo bulls carry carts and till the fields in the Terai.
4. Sources of hide and skin: Livestock hide and skin are valuable income source from industries and foreign currency.
5. Sources of wool and hair: Sheep wool and hair are used to make high value pashmina and generate high income source of foreign currency.
6. Sources of cash: Milk, meat and eggs is considered as a cash product for farmer as it is being sold morning and evening daily.
7. Sentiment/religious value: The Hindu's sacred Panchamrit is made by milk products is required to perform religious work. Even every time before cooking, the kitchen is made sacred and clean by cow-dung.
8. Through animal sales: In the case of cattle, heifers are sold at market price to consumers, while less productive and/or old animals are culled at a cheap cost.
9. Biogas utilization: Biogas is a renewable energy source that may be used to cook and light the village. Dung is degraded and converted to methane, which is a combustible gas.
10. Employment: Dairy farming employs people to complete everyday tasks. Each household now has a source of income thanks to livestock.
Scope of livestock and poultry farming in Nepal
Q. Discuss the scope of livestock farming in Nepal. (AFU board, 2072)
With economic expansion, rising household income, and urbanization, demand for livestock and animal products such as milk, meat, poultry, and other livestock products will continue to rise. Because of the rapid expansion in the world population, urbanization, and economic growth, demand for animal products is expected to double in the next 20 years (IFAD, 2009). Livestock is a valuable asset that plays an important role in herding and farming systems and contributes significantly to the reduction of rural poverty in Nepal; the scope of livestock in Nepal has a significant impact on;
- Food security: Livestock is a critical source of food, income, and production inputs for poor communities.
- Nutritional aspects: Livestock provides disadvantaged households with essential supplies of high-quality food, which are especially important for pregnant women and children's physical and mental development, even in little amounts.
- Community health: Livestock products are used to treat diseases and health concerns in many impoverished places. Animal transportation is essential for marginalized people to get to health centers, and livestock money is frequently used to finance family health care. Poor households can benefit from cattle ownership by coping better with the severe impacts of HIV/AIDS and other diseases.
- Socio-cultural identity: Livestock is an important part of many poor and marginal communities' identities and serves as a critical interaction with the living environment.
- Livestock keeping (LK) is primarily a family practice that allows women, elders, and youth a voice and influence in the household economy.
- Livestock supplies needed manure, transportation, and agricultural power for dry land agriculture, and is a beneficial complement to crop cultivation for increased overall agriculture production.
- Livestock keeping has implications (both positive and bad) in natural resource usage, degradation, conflicts and post-conflict recovery, land tenure and property rights, and natural resource management (community-based or individual).
- Risk management: Long-term livestock production strategies improve communities' ability to reduce risk, manage uncertainty, and cope with adversity.
- Livestock facilitates the provision of fundamental services to the rural poor, such as rural finance, health education, extension, and information.
- Market relationships: Animal products are typically key assets for impoverished households and marginal groups to access market and trade networks at various levels, which are critical in providing subsistence means as well as participation in the larger society frame.
- Financial and social asset: Keeping livestock provides income, savings, and insurance, as well as contributing to social functions and assets.
- Rural populations are familiar with and practice livestock raising, having inherited crucial knowledge features from predecessors and a strong sense of community.
- Livestock keeping facilitates the delivery of and access to services for the rural poor, including rural financing, breed improvement, health, management, input delivery, and technology transfer.
- Risk management and planning: In order to be sustainable, livestock producers must be able to manage risk and deal with uncertainty. Globalization: At the home, community, national, and global levels, livestock husbandry has a significant impact on commerce and marketing.