The potential of small ruminant farming as a means of poverty alleviation in rural southern India

Abstract

Small ruminant production has the potential to address the global challenge of greatly increased food production in impoverished rural areas in a manner that is socioeconomically sustainable and carbon efficient. Twenty-six small ruminant landless farmers in three villages in the Kanchipuram District of the state of Tamil Nadu were surveyed with regard to their sheep farming practice and production indices, with the preliminary aim of evaluating the potential of small ruminant farming in alleviating poverty in parts of rural in southern India. The small ruminant farmers reared mostly indigenous Madras Red sheep as a means of generating primary or supplementary income. Participatory interviews were undertaken to enable the completion of a questionnaire pertaining to sheep production over the four most recent annual production cycles (referred to as instances) at the time of the study. When calculating the annual farm profits without taking into consideration the opportunity cost of labour, 83% of annual sheep production cycles over a 4-year period added to household incomes. Further, 23% of the instances that accounted for the opportunity cost of labour, household income was raised above the Indian Government's defined poverty line solely through small ruminant farming. Management practices were identified, while participating in landless farmer interviews provided an insight into the husbandry, or lack thereof, which resulted in low lambing percentages and rates of high ewe losses, perinatal lamb mortality and abortion. The study showed both the vulnerability and potential resilience of small ruminant farming to natural disaster, in this case catastrophic flooding in 2015. While small ruminant farming generated income in most instances, the way it is practiced creates opportunities for simple changes in husbandry and management that could make it more efficient in poverty alleviation.

Molecular epidemiology of anaplasmosis in small ruminants along a human-livestock-wildlife interface in Uganda

“…Across Africa and Asia, small ruminants often maintained in mixed farms, are a major source of animal protein and raw materials for the fragile food industry (Devendra, 1994). In communities where poverty is endemic, small ruminants contribute essential revenue (Peacock, 2005), assets (Inn, 2003), and sources of food security (Herrero et al, 2013;Lalljee et al, 2019). Small ruminants are an important pathway towards the realization of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2018) in vulnerable communities, contributing to: zero poverty (goal 1), good health and well-being (goal 2); decent work and economic growth (goal 8).…”

“…A ovis is responsible for the majority of anaplasmosis cases in small ruminants (Bilgic et al, 2017;Torina et al, 2010) and there is a need to prioritize studies in eastern Africa to affect improvements in small ruminant health. Since many countries in eastern Africa rely on small ruminants for food and income (Herrero et al, 2013;Inn, 2003;Lalljee et al, 2019;Peacock, 2005), attainment of the SDGs in the region will require national governments to revise their disease control policies.…”

Development of amplicon sequencing for the analysis of benzimidazole resistance allele frequencies in field populations of gastrointestinal nematodes

“…A large-scale survey of UK sheep farms showed the benzimidazole resistance phenotype in 64–77% of farms, almost exclusively in the predominant gastrointestinal nematode species, Teladorsagia circumcincta (Bartley et al, 2003; Mitchell et al, 2010). Benzimidazole resistance is an emerging problem around the world in regions where efficient small ruminant production is essential in poverty alleviation (Lalljee et al, 2018) and where alternative anthelmintic drug groups are hitherto unavailable or prohibitively expensive (Sargison et al, 2017; Van Wyk et al, 1989; Wong and Sargison, 2018).…”

Animal health perceptions and challenges among smallholder farmers around Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India: A study using participatory epidemiological techniques

“…Livestock immunisation programmes are frequently reactive in nature, vaccinating animals in the face of an outbreak. Planned animal management programmes have the potential to alleviate poverty [23]. The objectives of this research are to elucidate the important animal health challenges faced by smallholder farmers in a flood-prone rural region in Assam, and to identify areas where changes in practices or interventions may be effective with reference to the broader aim of achieving sustainable improvements to animal welfare and productivity.…”