Prelims – 16th Nov 23

Livestock Sector in India

According to 20^th Livestock census-2019, India has total livestock population of 535.78 million consisting of diverse animals like cattle, buffalo, goats, pigs etc. Together they supplement the income of roughly 1.5 crores farmers, including small and marginal farmers, in India.

Livestock wealth a boon for small and marginal farmers:

1. Income of the small and marginal farmers (86% of total farm housesholds) from their small landholding. Livestock supplements income of the farmers.
2. Livestock acts as buffer against economic shocks, like drought, crop failure etc.
3. Livestock provide food as well as nutrition security, being important source of nutritious food like milk, meat etc.
4. Provides critical and cheap alternative to costly market based inputs like drought for ploughing on small plots, their dung can be used for bio-fertilizer.
5. Mixed agriculture involves both the growing of crops and raising of livestock, this not only complements each other but also increases the resilience of farmers.
6. Can act as regular source of cash income for the cash stripped small and marginal farmers.
7. Also provides cheap alternate source of energy, for ex – Gobar gas.
8. They also provide raw materials for food processing industries, thus facilitating their establishment in adjoining areas and reducing pressure on land.

Global Peace Index 2023

• Released annually by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP)
• It ranked 163 countries
• It measures the state of peace across three domains: Societal safety and security; Ongoing domestic and international conflict; Militarization
• Iceland is the most peaceful country in the world, since 2008, accompanied at the top by Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, and Austria
• Conversely, Afghanistan is the least peaceful country in the world for the eighth consecutive year. It is followed by Yemen, Syria, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• India’s position on the Global Peace Index stands at 126 out of 163 countries. With an overall score of 2.31, India falls below the global average of 2.314. Although, India’s rank has improved since last year on the index.

Drought

According to Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), around 68% of India is prone to drought in varying degrees. Since about 50% of the workforce is engaged in agricultural activity, drought like event can cause farm distress leading to reduced farmer’s income, livelihood challenges for laborers, food scarcity, inflation etc.

What do you mean by drought?

1. To begin with there is no single, precise and universally acceptable definition of drought. This is so because of varying characteristics and impacts across different region.
2. In simple words it is the absence of water for a long period of time, at a place where it is considered abnormal as compared to its usual conditions.
3. According to IMD, drought is a consequence of the natural reduction in the amount of precipitation for a long period of time.
4. Specific declaration of drought by central government (IMD) and States is not uniform and has different criteria.