R. M. Acharya – författare

India’s milk production is estimated to rise to 129 million tonnes (MT) by the end of year 2012 on account of strong prices and growing demands, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said. More recently extensive introduction of exotic dairy inheritance has been attempted and has led to a substantial increase in the population of crossbred cattle and milk production in the country. However buffalo contains to be the key milk producer with almost 53% of the total milk produced contributed by it. There is a large scope for further enhancement in the areas where White revolution had already made an impact. Two major initiatives viz. National Program for Cattle and Buffalo Development and Establishment of Producer Companies in place of Dairy Co-operatives under National Dairy Plan initiated from April 2012 and supporting programmes for improving feed resources especially cultivated fodders through availability of seeds of high producing fodder varieties and cultural practices and enhancing feed resources through pasture development and plantation of fodder trees and shrubs have been undertaken. With the acceptance of provisions of World Trade Organization (WTO) of opening of dairy trade to multinational companies, the earlier programs had to be revisited and modified in light of earlier experiences and new World competition in dairy trade. This book would be for the use of under-graduate and post-graduate students in Dairy Science, Animal Science and Veterinary Science as the book covers history of cattle and buffalo development in India vis-à-vis South-East Asia, reviews the R&D initiatives taken so far, production and processing technologies developed. It is not only the provision of technical inputs but also their delivery system which would be timely and in a manner that it is acceptable to the livestock keepers and they will be able to benefit through their application in a relatively shorter period.

This book is a critical analysis of the programs till now on all aspects of Animal Husbandry in India starting from the evolution of different livestock species, their domestication and improvement through selection and management to evolve the breeds a s they exist and function for the best benefit of their keepers and the nation. Livestock keeper is the master and must be considered as honored client by the professionals engaged in research and education, transfer of technology. The R&D in livestock should aim at improvement of production and productivity to an optimum level given the necessary conditions of production viz. (i) nutrition, (ii) disease situation, its control and eradication measures, (iii) processing and marketing, infrastructure available and (iv) social, economic and cultural aspects of livestock keepers and consumers and their considerations in formulation of livestock improvement programs. The book would be of great use to under-graduate, post-graduate students, teachers and scientists in Animal Science, Dairy Science and Veterinary Science as it critically analyze the present situation of livestock research, education and extension and the future programs for sustainable livestock production.