Animal husbandry emerging as reliable income source for Jharkhand farmers

Farmers and livestock rearers in rural Jharkhand are increasingly turning to animal husbandry as a promising source of additional income, an official said on Wednesday. It is providing them a safeguard from crop loss due to erratic weather patterns for the past few years. Jharkhand suffered a drought-like situation in two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023. The state government had to declare 226 blocks as drought hit in 2022 and 158 blocks in 2023. The state recorded normal rainfall this monsoon season after two years. The Hemant Soren-led government has been providing essential support to boost animal husbandry as a promising source of additional income. For this, the government has launched Mukhyamantri Pashudhan Vikas Yojana (MPVY), which is aimed at boosting the production of milk, meat, and eggs, thereby narrowing the gap between demand and supply. "Amid the change in climate, our farmers need to adopt diverse farming. The state has huge demand for milk and meat but they ar