A Micro Analysis of Fodder Production and Marketing in India: The Case of Bihar

Changing patterns of food consumption, linked to economic growth, and coupled with demographic changes are resulting in increased demand for livestock products in developing countries. However, one of the key constraints of the dairy development in resource poor areas of India is inadequate supply of fodder. Insufficiency of fodder inflicts very low level of animal productivity and a meager amount of marketable surplus of milk. Due to inflating food demand for burgeoning human population expansion of area under cultivated fodder is virtually impossible. Thus, livestock are heavily dependent upon crop residues as the main source of fodder in much of India. Mitigating scarcity of dry fodder and managing availability of green fodder round the year is a serious challenge for the livestock keepers as majority are marginal and small holders unable to produce and store livestock feed and forage and face acute shortage during certain periods. The paper deals with the aspects of fodder production and marketing in one of the poorest sates in India, Bihar.