Country facing fodder shortage, working to enhance availability: Govt

India has shortage of animal fodder and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying has been supplementing the efforts made by state governments to enhance fodder availability, union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh informed Parliament on Wednesday.

To a query on whether the government was aware of the shortage of animal fodder faced by the farmers, Singh said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, "Yes Sir. The country is deficit in fodder".

"The ICAR- Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute (IGFRI) Jhansi has estimated that there is a deficit of 11.24-32 per cent and 23 per cent for green and dry fodder, respectively, in the country," he added.

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying has been supplementing the efforts made by the state governments by implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme National Livestock Mission with a Sub Mission on Feed and Fodder Development since 2014-15, he highlighted.

The scheme was realigned in July 2021 with the ..