Sensitivity of Livestock Production to Climatic Variability under Indian Drylands and Future Perspective

The livestock production system is considered equally sensitive to climate change as that of core agriculture system and at the same time livestock itself is also contributing to the phenomenon. The present paper attempts to analyze the sensitivity of livestock productivity in rainfed regions to climatic variability, significance of climate change with respect to Indian livestock and mitigation options and leverage points in such a scenario. The sensitivity of livestock productivity was examined by using district level data of milk productivity of cow as well as buffalo for the year 1992 and 1997 for 100 districts which was regressed on important weather variables. The analysis shows that weather variables like rainfall and temperature do significantly influence the milk productivity of animals in rainfed regions. Increased climatic variability due to changing climate is likely to negatively influence the livestock productivity. Based on analysis and stakeholders consultation the paper suggests appropriate adaptation strategies particularly focusing on mitigating feed scarcity situations arising due to climatic variability.