India’s Odisha State launches master plan to spur livestock sector investment and growth

A master plan to guide the long-term investment and growth of Odisha’s livestock sector is now available.

The Odisha livestock master plan (LMP) was launched by the state government’s Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Department (F&ARD) under the leadership of Shri Suresh Kumar Vashishth, commissioner-cum-secretary, Government of Odisha on 12 October 2022.

Livestock keeping is the second most important economic activity in the eastern India state after crop farming. More than 80% of Odisha’s rural population own livestock, which generates up to 30% of the income of small-scale, marginal and landless farmers.

The Odisha LMP, whose development was initiated by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in 2020, is a detailed plan for enhancing investment in the state’s livestock sector. The plan includes a baseline livestock sector analysis (LSA), a 15-year livestock sector strategy (LSS), and a five-year sector investment plan. The sector investment plan includes a financial and human resource analysis and a budget to guide the development of a sustainable livestock sector for a state or country.

Commissioner Vashishth praised the ILRI, F&ARD Department, Samagra Governance, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their role in developing the master plan saying ‘the LMP will guide investments to improve the livestock sector in Odisha.’

‘By adopting the investment options presented in the master plan, Odisha can raise livestock production to meet the growing demand for milk, egg, and chicken meat,’ said Sirak Bahta, senior scientist at ILRI, who contributed to the LMP. He added that additional investment, particularly in animal feeding, animal breeding, and marketing of livestock products will be needed to achieve this goal. Among other recommendations, the LMP calls for more emphasis on backyard poultry and goat farming, which will not only increase overall meat production but also empower women in Odisha.

Habibar Rahman, regional representative for ILRI in South Asia, said that the ‘LMP offers proposals and highlights opportunities for growing the livestock sector in Odisha.’ It also suggests ways of tackling the challenges and constraints of different production and marketing systems within the dairy, goat, sheep, and poultry value chains.

Gopal Krishna Tripathy, who led the team that developed the LMP, thanked the government and private sector stakeholders involved the master plan’s creation. He said the LMP’s short-term and long-term proposals for growing the sector was based upon their contributions.

Isabelle Baltenweck, program leader of ILRI’s Policies, Institutions and Livelihoods program, said the Odisha’s livestock master plan development process benefitted from ILRI’s expertise in developing livestock master plans for other countries. The institute has in the past developed livestock master plans for Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uzbekistan, as well as the Indian state of Bihar. 

The development of the Odisha LMP was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through Samagra Governance, and was undertaken by a joint team of experts from Odisha government institutions and ILRI.

Habibar Rahman welcoming the commissioner-cum-secretary, Government of Odisha (photo credit: ILRI/Braja Bandhu Swain)

Official release of livestock sector analysis (LSA) by the dignitaries (photo credit: ILRI/Braja Bandhu Swain) 

Official release of livestock master plan (LMP) by the dignitaries (photo credit: ILRI/Braja Bandhu Swain).

Read more about the livestock master plan of Odisha.

See ILRI’s work in Odisha State here. 

(The post was edited by Chi Nguyen, regional communications officer with ILRI in East and Southeast Asia, and Paul Karaimu, communications officer, ILRI).