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Essay on Dairy Industry
Essay Contents:
- Essay on the Introduction to Dairy Industry
- Essay on the Nutrition Required for Dairy Industry
- Essay on the Genetics of Dairy Breeds
- Essay on the Diseases of Dairy Stock
- Essay on the Management of Dairy
- Essay on the Problems of Dairy Industry
- Essay on Operation Flood Project and Dairy Development
Essay # 1. Introduction to Dairy Industry:
In 1977 there were 3 264 635 dairy cattle in Australia, the greatest numbers occurring in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. In the period July 1977 to June 1978, these cattle produced 5 167 609 000 litres of milk.
Thirty-eight per cent was separated and the cream used to make butter, 32 per cent was sold as whole milk, 17 per cent was used to make cheese and 13 per cent was turned into condensed milk or dried milk powder. Australia produces much more butter, cheese and milk powder than she can use and the surplus is exported, chiefly to the United Kingdom.
Since it is not profitable to buy feed for dairy cattle except in some city areas, most dairy cattle have to be raised on pastures. This means that dairying is largely confined to the better rainfall areas where suitable feed is available.
In recent years dairying in Australia has undergone many changes, the chief of which are:
1. Many farmers have found dairying unprofitable and have gone out of the industry. These farmers have either sold their farms and left the land or changed to raising beef cattle or growing fruit or tree crops. The worst affected farmers are those in the cream zones, for they receive a lower price for each litre of milk they produce than farmers in the milk zones who supply fresh milk to the cities.
2. As some dairy farms have been sold, many of them have been bought by other farmers to make larger farms which are more profitable. Therefore although there are now fewer dairy farms in Australia, the number of large dairy farms is increasing.
3. There has been a greater use of tractors and milking machines by dairymen. In New South Wales now, seven out of every eight dairies milking 15 or more cows have milking machines installed.
4. In recent years dairymen have made greater use of artificial insemination for breeding. The bulls kept at the dairy breeding centres are generally of better quality than those the dairyman has bred. Therefore the use of semen from these bulls is the best way to improve the quality of a dairy herd.
The average Australian dairy cow produces only about 2092 litres of milk a year. This is low when compared with the production of dairy cows in countries like Denmark and New Zealand. The main reason for the low production of Australian cows is the lack of sufficient food of good quality.
The first dairy cattle introduced to the country were hybrids having Indian blood, but during the nineteenth century European breeds were imported.
The Jersey breed was developed on the island of Jersey in the English Channel. Animals of this breed were first imported in the 1880s, but they were known as Alderneys. Jerseys are rather small cattle of fawn colour, with black tips to the muzzle, horns, ears, feet and tail. The horns are small and incurving.
The cows are noted for their docility, but the bulls are treacherous and should never be trusted. Jersey cows produce a smaller quantity of milk than most other breeds but the percentage of fat (5.2 per cent) is the highest of all breeds.
The Australian Illawarra Milking Shorthorn (AIS or AIMS) was developed by farmers of the South Coast of New South Wales, and was once very popular. The standard colour is a rich dark red; the horns are short and incurving. Because the breed has not been established very long, the cattle tend to be variable both in body features and in production. The cows produce a large quantity of milk but the average fat percentage is only about 3.9.
There is little doubt that the most important dairy breed is the Friesian, for the use of artificial insemination shows that it is now the most popular breed.
The Friesian breed was developed in the Low Countries of Europe, and has gone to many countries of the world. Friesians are larger than any other dairy breeds, and have large splashes of black and white colour. The horns are small and turned in. The Friesian breed is rapidly gaining in popularity for two reasons.
In the first place Friesians produce large quantities of milk which makes them ideal for supplying whole milk to cities. Secondly, being large cattle, the steers can be sold as beef. The fat percentage of Friesian milk is about 3.5 per cent.
Ayrshires are large cattle of Scottish origin and are usually brown and white, with long upcurving horns in both sexes. The coloured areas tend to be very broken, whereas in the Friesians the areas of black have smoother outlines. Ayrshire cows produce a large quantity of milk with a fat percentage between 4 and 5 per cent.
Guernsey cattle came originally from the island of Guernsey in the English Channel, and in many ways resemble Jerseys. They are larger than Jerseys, and the colour is yellow and white or brown and white.
There are no black tips on the points of the body. The horns are medium sized and incurving. Guernsey cows produce a small quantity of milk but the fat percentage is 4.9—the second highest of the dairy breeds.
There is a great need for improvement in Australian dairying, especially in those areas producing cream for butter making.
In India, a large proportion of population is vegetarian, in whose diet milk and milk products assume great importance, as they are the only source of animal protein in their diet. Here both cows and buffaloes are important animals for producing milk. The milk of goat, sheep and to a lesser extent that of camel and ass is also used. Goat milk is used in most parts of the country, constituting about 4 per cent of the country’s total production, as against about 53 per cent provided by the buffalo and 33 per cent by the cow.
No estimates are available of the quantities of milk supplied by the sheep, camel and ass used as human food. The use of milk from camel is known to be confined particularly to parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat, while that from ass is reported to be used to some extent in parts of Gujarat. Sheep milk is used more widely than that of the camel or ass and is largely confined to hills and grazing areas where large flocks of sheep are to be found.
Milk production stagnated between 20-25 million tonnes per annum from 1950 to 1975. As a result per capita per day milk consumption in India declined at a very fast rate. Per capita per day milk consumption was 132 grams in 1950-51. It is declined to 112 grams per day in 1970-71. But after 1975 total milk production and per capita milk availability is increasing.
Total milk production in 2010-11 was 121.8 million tonnes and per capita availability was 260 grams per day in 2010-11. India is currently largest milk producer in the world. These are the most visible broad indicators of the progress of milk production in India.
Table given below shows the trend of milk production and per capita per day milk availability:
Dairy farming in India is still not so well-developed, as it is in countries like Denmark, Sweden, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or U.S.A. In India it was begun in 1881 when cream separators were first introduced. The first large dairy farm was started by the military in 1891 at Allahabad and the development of more dairy farms led to the creation of the post of Indian Dairy expert in 1920.
Since Independence, there have been developed 186 dairy plants, comprising 92 liquid milk plants, 68 pilot milk schemes/rural dairy centres, 26 milk products factories besides 3 creameries. In addition, 51 dairy projects are under different stages of implementation. The average dairy through-put of milk was of 16 lakh litre in 1967-68; 20 lakh litres in 1969-70, 22.50 lakh litres in 1970-71, 24.00 lakh litres in 1971-72, 29 lack litres in 1972-73, and 28.82 lakh litres in 1973-74; and 55.28 lakh litres in 1977-78.
The important dairy centres in the country are given below:
The milk product plants are working at Ahmedabad, Aligarh, Baroda, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Anand, Mehsana, Amritsar, Jind, Moradabad, Kolhapur, Hubli-Dharwar, Pondicherry, Hyderabad, Rajkot, Trivandrum, Kanyakumari, and Vijayawada, These produced 40 tonnes of milk powder per day in 1969-70- 45 tonnes per day in 1970- 71, 50 tonnes per day in 1971-72 and 50 tonnes in 1972-73.
Of the milk products, the quantity of table butter and ghee manufactured was around 30 tonnes in 1969-70; 35 tonnes in 1970-71; 40 tonnes in 1971-72 and 41 tonnes in 1972-73. Two composite milk plants are working at Barauni and Bhiwani.
Essay # 2. Nutrition
Required for Dairy Industry:
The quantity and quality of feed both before and after calving has pronounced effects on the amount and length of lactation, and the most certain way of improving dairy production is through better feed.
In many areas better feed is provided most cheaply and effectively by pasture improvement. In the drier areas of the slopes, fodder crops such as Sudan grass, or conserved fodder in the form of hay or silage, will improve nutrition. If any additional fodder is provided to increase the milk flow, it is important to make sure that it contains enough protein.
The easiest way of correcting low protein content is to feed protein concentrates such as linseed meal, but even the small amounts of these concentrates needed are expensive. To reduce the need for concentrates, the supplementary fodder provided should be as high in protein as possible. This can be done by such methods as including legumes in crops grown for hay, and by cutting hay crops at an early stage when their protein content is high.
A very important avenue for improvement is the feeding of dry cows. As these cows are often put into the poorest paddocks until they calve, the low protein and carbohydrate intake before calving has the effect of shortening the lactation. Any attempt made by the farmer to improve the feeding of these cows will be rewarded by higher milk yields.
Special feeding problems occur on the coastal districts of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. In these areas the soil fertility on many farms has been allowed to fall to low levels. Nutrients have been leached by the high rainfall, or taken up from the soil by vigorous grasses like Paspalum and Kikuyu. These nutrients have then left the farm as dairy products.
Harsh unpalatable grasses, like carpet grass, buffalo, and bladey grass have then invaded the pastures. The soils now have low amounts of nitrogen, potassium and organic matter. Since the soils are low in organic matter, they have low water-holding capacity and low nutrient-holding capacity. This loss of fertility always happens when nutrients are not returned to the soil. Fertility will rise again when legumes are established and nutrients such as potassium supplied as fertilisers.
Dairy pastures should have summer, autumn and winter legumes to provide feed all the year, and to add organic matter to the soil.
Essay # 3. Genetics of Dairy Breeds:
While improved feeding is the greatest need in the dairying industry additional progress will come when use is made of better breeding methods. Males have a greater effect on a herd, for good or bad, than females, because they sire so many progeny. We also saw that progress only comes when we use progeny-tested parents. Unfortunately there are two reasons why the average dairyman cannot progeny test his own bulls.
To have any chance of finding a really outstanding sire, at least ten bulls must be tested together, under the same conditions. Moreover we must have production records of at least twenty of his daughters before we can test the value of a sire properly.
These numbers are far too large for the average dairyman, who can only use as sires the sons of his best milkers. This procedure results in a slow rate of improvement, but is the best that some dairymen can achieve.
Progeny testing of bulls is carried out on certain private and government-owned properties, and outstanding sires are discovered in this way. There is no need for a dairyman to buy expensive progeny-tested bulls, because he can buy the semen of these bulls.
This means that he is really buying superior genes. By artificial insemination the semen can be introduced into the farmer’s cows, and this has just the same results as if the progeny-tested bull belonged to the farmer. When more AI units are formed, and when dairymen learn to make use of these facilities, progress in dairy breeding will be faster.
Whatever breeding plan is used, a farmer should know exactly what each of his cows produces. It is therefore most important for all cows to be properly herd-tested, and their production recorded for future use.
It has been the practice for students of agriculture to be trained in judging the shape or conformation of dairy cows by using a score-card system. Conformation would be very important if it was true that cows with the best shape were also the best milk producers. However scientists have shown that there is almost no relation between shape and production.
Therefore judging the conformation of cows only shows us which animals are closest to the standard shape and colour for a breed— it does not tell us which animals are the best to use in breeding.
Fancy points therefore should not be used when selecting dairy stock for breeding. Animals with serious faults such as an undershot jaw should not be allowed to breed, but smaller faults, like horns of wrong shape, should not bar an animal from breeding use.
Essay # 4. Diseases
of Dairy Stock:
Mastitis, or inflammation of the udder, is an important cause of loss in production. Disease-causing bacteria enter the udder and ulcerate the cisterns and ducts. The udder becomes swollen and sore, and the milk cannot be used because it contains pus. Mastitis is spread through a herd by lack of cleanliness in the milking shed, and by the carelessness of farmers who do nothing to control it.
Infected cows can be cured by the use of oils containing penicillin, which are injected into the udder through the teat. Milk from cows recently treated with penicillin must not be used for cheese making, because traces of the drug are enough to kill the bacteria which turn milk into cheese.
Tuberculosis is unfortunately common in the dairy herds of some parts of Australia. The bacteria causing this disease find their way into the milk, and so cows may pass the disease on to human beings. Tubercular cattle usually show loss of weight, and may or may not have a cough.
Sometimes there are not many signs of the disease, and the only way to be certain whether a cow is diseased or healthy is by the use of a special test. Since tuberculosis in cattle cannot be cured, the only way to fight the disease is to test all animals and slaughter those which are shown to be diseased. The New South Wales Government will pay dairymen a sum of money for the slaughter of each infected beast, and it is hoped that in this way the disease will be slowly eliminated.
The only way to make milk quite safe for human use is to have it properly pasteurised, for in this process the heat kills the tuberculosis bacteria. It is important to realise that cows suffering from tuberculosis are not only a danger to human health, but they transmit the disease to their calves, and their milk production may be lowered.
Milk fever strikes cows just before or after calving. Cows are not usually affected until they have had two calves. Affected cows first show unsteadiness in the hind feet, and they finally go down on the ground.
They make a grunting sound, and death may follow very quickly. The treatment is to inject into a neck vein a solution of calcium boro-gluconate. If this substance is not available, cows sometimes recover if air is pumped into the udder, and the teats tied up for half an hour.
Bloat and contagious abortion are other serious diseases of dairy stock.
Essay # 5. Management of Dairy:
The most important part of dairy management concerns what happens in the milking shed, for what is done there can have a big effect on the quantity and cleanliness of milk obtained.
The first essential is to have the shed so built that the minimum of dust blows into the bails, and so designed that the floors can be thoroughly cleaned after milking. The holding yards should have a gentle slope away from the dairy to help in drainage.
A large apron of concrete extending from the bails out into the yards helps greatly in reducing the dust and mud nuisance. In the bails all corners of floors should be finished in rounded concrete for easy cleaning, and shallow concrete drains should be formed in the floor to allow water to drain away readily.
Pupils should try to understand the reason for cleanliness in the milking sheds. Milk goes sour because the bacteria in it turn the milk sugar into acids. Milk that contains large numbers of bacteria will sour quickly, so the aim of the dairyman should be to do everything he can to reduce the numbers of bacteria getting into the milk.
Dirty milking machines which have not been sterilised properly are the greatest source of trouble, but dust from the soil and dried manure also carry millions of bacteria. Therefore the ideal shed would be one into which wind cannot enter, and where the air is still and free from dust. If the udder is washed down properly with clean water before milking, fewer bacteria will enter the milk.
The dairyman can only manage his cows properly in the shed if he knows something about the milking process. The milk is formed in the alveoli, and most of it is held there until milking. The aim of the dairyman is to obtain as much of this milk as possible. If the cow’s teats are properly stimulated, a nervous message goes to the pituitary gland, which puts some hormones into the blood.
Within about 50 seconds these “let down” hormones reach the udder and cause the muscles around the alveoli to contract, and so the milk is let down. However it is important to know that the hormones only last in the blood for a short time, varying from two to ten minutes.
If a cow is frightened in any way before milking, another hormone called adrenalin is produced from the adrenal glands, and this blocks the let-down hormones. Knowing these facts we see that the ideal procedure is as follows – the cows should be kept as quiet as possible both before and during milking; on coming into the yard, the same routine should be followed every time so that cows become accustomed to the procedure.
When a cow is bailed up, the udder should be washed and the teats stimulated properly for about half a minute in order to bring about a proper release of let-down hormones. It is then essential to put the teat cups on straight away, for if there is any delay, the let-down hormones may be lost. When the milk flow falls to 250 g of milk a minute, the cups should be removed.
For greatest milking efficiency, the machines must be properly adjusted so that the vacuum is exactly 381 mm of mercury, and the pulsation rate steady at a figure between 35 and 45 per minute. The squeezing action should be slow and the release rapid. Other adjustments to the machine may be needed.
After milking it is essential that the machines be thoroughly cleansed, and all containers properly scalded and cleaned out. Finally the bails should be washed down and all mud and manure removed.
The rearing of calves is a constant occupation on dairies. All calves should be left with their mothers for a few days. Bull calves not required as sires are either killed, sold at three or four months, or reared and sold as steers. Castration of bull calves is done between three and six months of age, the testes being entirely removed or caused to wither by crushing of the cord. Young bulls should have rings inserted in their noses at ten or twelve months for easy leading, and should not be used as sires before twelve months of age.
The feeding of heifer calves varies with the type of dairy. In the butter zone where only the cream is sold, it is usual to feed the calf on whole milk for three or four weeks, and then to feed it on separated milk until weaning. In the milk zone the milk is more valuable and less of it is given to calves, and many ideas have been suggested for rearing calves on a small amount of milk.
It has been shown that if calves grow slowly in the early stages, this does not have a severe effect on their later development as dairy cows. One modern scheme is to feed calves on whole milk for a fortnight, and then to wean them right off milk and feed them a meal containing 50 per cent milk powder.
The percentage of milk powder in the meal is gradually reduced, until at three months only 20 per cent is given. After this, no milk powder is given, the reason being that it is cheaper to feed milk powder than to use whole milk in the milk zone.
Essay # 6.
Problems of Dairy Industry:
The dairy industry in India is faced with several problems such as:
(i) The small scale holdings and scattered milk production in the villages. The collection of small quantities of milk produced in such areas and its transportation in good condition to urban markets present many difficulties. Most of the villages are not connected by all-weather roads and are inaccessible during certain parts of the year. Consequently the milk produced cannot be fully utilized.
(ii) There do not exist adequate facilities for cooling and refrigeration and rapidly moving railway vans so that it is difficult to keep milk in good condition during its haulage and transport. Owing to unhygienic conditions of production and handling of milk and high temperatures, the quality milk supplies available for distribution is generally not satisfactory.
(iii) The demand for milk and milk products is uniform throughout the year but the production is not only localised in certain areas but is also distinctly seasonal. Milk yield is very high during the period between October and March but low between May and September.
In the hill districts of the Himalayan region and Rajasthan, milk production is rather constant throughout the year between 20 and 22 per cent, while in South India, the percentage of milk production is very poor, 8.53 per cent in summer and 10.37 per cent in the rainy season. Therefore, efficient dairying requires diversification for production of milk powder, condensed milk, processed cheese, instant milk food, etc., which can be preserved and sold throughout the year. In the lean season, milk powder may be used to add to the supply of fresh milk to consumers.
(iv) The methods of production followed by the producers are crude, primitive and extremely wasteful of labour. Hand milking is universal and udders are rarely washed. Milk is transported in vessels which generally affect its hygienic and its keeping qualities, chances of contamination are many and the risk of spoilage is serious. Gowalas and cultivators do not adopt clean methods and the general poverty of the producers and lack of equipment make the adoption of progressive methods difficult.
(v) Cattle rearing in India is carried out under a variety of adverse climatic and environmental conditions. Cattle husbandry centres round the small cultivator, to the large majority of whom livestock raising is subsidiary to crop production. Being resourceless, he cannot give proper attention to his cattle. This neglect reduces milk yields of cows and the quality of the breed.
The situation is further aggravated by lack of feeding stuff and fodder, and the availability of permanent pastures and meadows per livestock unit is only 0.06 hectares, whereas in Australia it is as high as 14.59 hectares, in USSR 3.80 hectares, in USA 2.64 hectares and in the UK 0.90 hectares.
(vi) Due to existence of a multiplicity of agencies and persons handling milk and milk products it is difficult to exercise an effective control over the supply of milk and milk products brought to the market. Therefore, elaborate codes of practices, sanitation standards and quality standards have to be more vigorously enforced.
(vii) The milking capacity of Indian cattle is very small and, hence, a large number of cattle are to be maintained for getting required quantity of milk. This number is a great drain on the scarce fodder resources. Cross-breeding, therefore, can bring about the desired reduction in number of unwanted animals. Introduction of such practices can definitely increase capacity of the milch cattle.
(viii) Milk production needs considerable investment and risk taking. Unless the producers are guaranteed a reasonable price on a long term basis their economy is affected adversely. The price of milk is determined by several milk schemes on the basis of the price in the open market, which in turn is determined by the price of milk products like ghee and khoa. Therefore, a guaranteed and stable price covering costs and bringing about a reasonable profit, consistent with the quality of milk, should be assured to the producers.
Attempts have recently been made to improve milk supply to, cities and towns through:
(i) Organisation of cooperative milk-producers’ societies and milk supply union, pilot milk schemes for collecting milk from villages, lying at a distance ranging from 50 to 150 kms.
(ii) Colonization of city milch cattle in outlying rural areas from where milk could be collected and distributed through coupons.
(iii) Organisation of milk supply projects near urban centres for collection, processing and distribution of milk, through milk vans, to urban population.
(iv) Establishment of creameries and dairy factories for the utilization of surplus milk in areas producing large quantities of milk.
Essay # 7. Operation Flood Project
and Dairy Development:
With the help of the World Food Programmes (W.F.P.), the department of agriculture of the Government of India, formulated a project for stimulating milk marketing and dairy development in India. Under this project, the WFP agreed to supply free of cost, during the 5- year period (from 1970-71 to 1974-75) 126 thousand tonnes of skimmed milk powder and 42 thousand tonnes of butter oil, worth Rs. 41.90 crores at international price.
After recombination of the skimmed milk powder and butter oil into liquid milk at the public sector dairies at Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi and Madras, the milk will be sold and the sale proceeds from the quantity estimated at Rs. 95.20 crores will be used for increasing milk processing facilities of the public sector dairies from 1.00 million litres at present to 2.75 million litres per day at the end of the five year project period. The generated funds will also be used for increasing milk production and procurement in the ten States.
This will be achieved by the provision of technical inputs which will include production of ready mixed concentrates and green fodder, artificial insemination, veterinary services and medicines, calf rearing assistance, development of improved milch animals and organisation of rural procurement of milk. The project will also provide for the resettlement of the city kept cattle and buffaloes in the adjacent rural areas.
This project is considered as the world’s biggest milk drive. It involves the following actions:
(a) Major increase in the capacity and output of dairy processing facilities from about 1 million to 2.75 m. litres per day;
(b) Competitive transfer of the bulk of the urban markets for traditional supplies of raw milk to the modern dairies;
(c) Resettlement in rural areas of cattle in the cities, which at present serve a large part of these city markets;
(d) Development of the basic transportation and storage facilities to facilitate regional and seasonal balancing of milk supply and demand.
(e) Development of milk procurement systems in appropriate rural areas in order to provide for raw milk in a channel which is more remunerative than the traditional channel.
(f) Improvement in standards of dairy farming by programmes of animal breeding, veterinary services, feed stuff supplies and management, thereby increasing milk yields per animal.
The project will be assisting in all 10.88 lakhs of small and marginal farmers and agricultural labourers in 57 districts. Besides, about 10 million persons will have an additional milk supply so that the per capita availability is increased from 108 gm. to 280 gm.
The project involves rearing of high yielding cattle by developing facilities for production and supply of about 3,575 tonnes of concentrate feed mixtures per day and production of green forages from 7.66 lakh acres. Intensive cross-breeding of cows with exotic dairy breeds would supplant the population of 14 lakhs of indigenous cows by cross-breed progeny.
Simultaneously, increases in production performances of buffaloes would also be brought about by selection, cutting of low producers and by breeding with superior sires through artificial insemination. About 18.75 m. milch cattle were expected to be involved in the project.
Under this project, a milk plant is to be set up in every district in Punjab within next ten years, when the output of milk is expected to be doubled. Dairy complex is being developed at Ludhiana, Bhatinda, and Amritsar; while composite milk plants are being set up at Jullundur, Gurdaspur and Patiala.
In Haryana, a chain of milk plants are being put up at Bhuwadni, Jind and Ambala.
In Rajasthan, an ambitious dairy plan has been prepared for setting up milk banks at Jodhpur and Bikaner, each handling 1,00,000 litres of milk every day, at Bharatpur and Alwar, with handling capacity of 60,000 litres each per day. Milk from these centres is now being supplied to Delhi.
To implement the project, “Operation Flood”, Indian Dairy Corporation was set up at Baroda, which alongwith the National Dairy Development and ICAR is responsible for financing promoting and providing technical services, training and material inputs, including manufacture of immunological and biological veterinary products as well as dairy immunological and biological veterinary products as well as dairy equipments.
During the Fifth Plan, Corporations will be organised for undertaking massive cross-breeding programme with semen from exotic proven stock.
Being encouraged with the spectacular development of the Anand Milk Corporation Society, which started with a handful of members in June 1948 in two villages producing just 250 litres of milk a day, the society had 706 societies and 1,80,000 farmer members having a breedable buffalo population of 2.5 lakhs in 1970-71, and the quantity of milk was over 1,24,000 litres, the National Commission on Labour has recommended that “Amul Pattern” should be spread in 107 districts, in the country to help small and marginal farmers.
Dairy business is emerging as an important sector in the economy. It is an expanding business. Development of dairy business has given a favourable condition for increase in milk production. The dairy business of the country has unique character in several ways in comparison to other countries. It is controlled and operated by a large number of people especially farmers and primary activity of the dairy business is mainly handled by housewife.
Milk production is mainly the business of unorganised sector. Dairying will receive greater attention for development during the Plan as this sector plays an important role in generating employment opportunities and supplementing incomes of landless labourers especially in rainfed and drought prone areas.