Sheep breeding in north-western arid and semi-arid regions of India: An overview

Abstract

Meatconsumption in India isincreasingrapidly andthe demandwill be much higher in nearfuture. Sheep meat has scope to fulfil this gap, given a strategic planning. Sheep husbandry contributes sizeably to the livelihood and economic sustenance of farmers in rural areas especially in arid and semi-arid regions. This review pertains to sheep breeding status and prospects for north-western arid and semi-arid regions of India for enhancing productivity. These regions have 14 well-defined sheep breeds/strains and farmers mainly depend on sheep rearing for their livelihood. Breeding policies directed by state government for sheep have been developed and implemented for improvement; however the reach of the programmes is limited. Breed improvement policy for sheep needs to be looked upon as a bottom-up instead of traditional top-down approach. ICAR-Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute (CSWRI) has developed new strains and improved native sheep such as Malpura, Magra, Marwari, Chokla, Patanwadi, Sonadi, Muzaffarnagari,Avikalin, prolificAvishaan, Dumba and sheep strains resistance to Haemonchus contortus in the arid and semi-arid regions. The Avishaan, prolific sheep produce more lambs per ewe for higher profitability. Milk of sheep also needs focus and selective breeding in Patanwadi sheep for milk has potential. In India, wool production has stagnated over the decade; however, there is huge demand for good quality wool in the market. Thus, crossbreeding of Australian strong wool Merino sheep with wool sheep of western Rajasthan can prove to be a promising solution. Implementation of breeding programme is usually difficult and requires involvement of shepherd communities. Several initiatives which need attention in near future for sheep breeding are proposed in this review. State-wide or region-wide sheep identification, use of information technology for sheep data collection and linkage to market, genomic selection for traits difficulttomeasureand breeding of sheepunderclimatechangeshould begiven proper emphasis.