A golden journey from the Department to the separate Ministry of Animal Husbandry

Pashu Sandesh, 18th May 2020

The day of 30 May 2019 will always be written in golden letters in the history of Animal Husbandry department, because 72 years after the independence, on 30 May 2019, Animal Husbandry got the status of a separate ministry in the Central Government. In a way, it was like getting an unasked request, because neither the Vet organizations of the country had demanded any Animal Husbandry ministry nor any such proposal was sent to the government by the department. At the time of formation of the new government, Prime Minister Modi set up a separate Animal Husbandry ministry and gave a jackpot to all of us.

Now the question arises, when there was no demand or pressure for a separate ministry then how did the government suddenly create a new ministry? When Pashu Sandesh examined this subject, it came out that, due to its ability to give impetus to the rural economy in the Animal Husbandry sector and the excellent growth rate of the sector in the last few years. If simply put, the Animal Husbandry Department has received a promotion on the basis of merit.

When we talked to the higher officials of the Animal Husbandry Department posted at the Krishi Bhavan at that time, they also said that they did not have any concrete information regarding the formation of a separate ministry. The informal talks used to be held in the corridors of Krishi Bhavan and speculations were made, but no one had any clue about the formation of a new ministry. Officials say that we did not even think that this dream would turn into reality so soon. A little hint surfaced when the Fisheries was separated from the Animal Husbandry department in February 2019 to form a new department.

Let us look at the merits of AH which has done the trick:

1 Modi government has pledged to double the income of farmers by 2022. This can be done only through two means, one is agriculture and the other is Animal Husbandry. The government has been putting full thurst in the field of agriculture, but the growth rate in the agriculture sector could not go beyond 3%, even though the Animal Husbandry sector with very limited resources and monetary inputs has consistently given the growth rate of 6% for the six consecutive years which is more than double of the agriculture. This is the biggest reason that has inspired and compelled the government to form a separate ministry to focus more on Animal Husbandry.

2. Animal Husbandry accounts for more than 30 per cent of the GDP obtained from agriculture and contributes more than 4% in the National GDP.

3 In terms of value, milk is the largest crop in the country with more than 7 lakh crore turnover figure. Both wheat and paddy combined together do not match with the turnover figures of milk.

4 Agriculture is a seasonal business, farmers get income twice a year from Rabi and Kharif crops, while Animal Husbandry earns a steady income throughout the year.

5 Milk Cooperatives has a strong marketing network in the country.

6. Strong performances by Fisheries and Poultry sectors.

The achievements made by the joint efforts of the country's Veterinarians and people working in the Dairy sector have pulled Animal Husbandry to the level of a separate ministry.

The main highlights of the golden journey:

1. Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (AH&D) came into existence on 1 February 1991. On this day, two pisions of the Department of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development were merged and a new Department,"Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (AH&D) was established.
2. On 10 October 1997, the Fisheries Division of the Department of Agriculture was brought under the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (AH&D) and renamed the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DADF).
3. On 5 February 2019, the fisheries were separated from the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DADF) and given the status of the independent department and the Department of Animal Husbandry was named Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD).
4. On 30 May 2019, a new Ministry of Fisheries and Fisheries was separated from the Ministry of Agriculture and announced the "Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying”.
5. Cabinet Secretariat notification of Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying were issued on 17 June 2019.