Can livestock sector reduce inequality in rural India? An economic analysis of trends and drivers of growth in livestock sector

Abstract

This paper analyses the development of the livestock sector since independence of India. Using livestock census data, it examines the trends particularly size, structure and compositional changes in the number of livestock held by households. It analyses the various socioeconomic determinants of the number of livestock held by the households in India using the Poisson regression. It highlights the inequality and variations in livestock holdings across households belonging to different socio-economic groups and finally suggests certain policy measures that could overcome the constraints faced by this sector and could help in raising farmers income by reducing inequality in livestock holdings in India.