1. By: Nidhi Singh

2. Introduction
Man is an omnivore. He depends on both plants
and animals for food. We know that crops are a
major source of food. In this chapter, we shall
study about animal sources of food. Animal
sources include eggs, meat, milk and fish.
Eggs and meat are rich in proteins, fats, vitamins
and minerals. Milk contains all the major food
nutrients - carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins
A and D, minerals like phosphorus and calcium
and water. The following table gives the
nutritional values of animal products.

3. Nutritional Values of Animal
Products
Milk is obtained from milk producing (milch) animals like
cows, buffaloes and goats. Eggs are obtained from egg-
laying birds like fowl and duck. Meat is obtained from fowl,
cow, sheep, goat and pig. Fish are either fresh water or
marine and include crabs, shrimps and prawns.
To meet the ever-increasing demand of food to feed the
increasing population, we need to take steps to not only
increase crop production, but also improve the production
of animal food. Dairy farming, poultry farming, fish
farming and piggery have increased appreciably due to the
combined efforts of the farmers co-operative
organisations, government agencies and co-operative
banks. Proper management of livestock and their breeding
have also played an important role in increasing the
production of animal food

4. What is Livestock
Livestock means all domestic animals like cows, buffaloes, sheep,
goats, pigs etc. that are used to produce food. Animal husbandry
deals with the breeding, feeding and caring of domestic animals
i.e., their shelter, control of disease and proper utilization of
their products.
The various animal food resources that provide food are
livestock, poultry and fish.
Food is one of the basic needs of man. Early man lived on roots
and berries of wild plants but with civilization, man learnt to
cultivate plants to satisfy his food needs. With continuous
increase in population and rapid urbanization, our natural
resources have been over exploited. As a result of this, our
natural resources are getting depleted at a very fast rate. Our
major concern today is how to increase production to feed the
increasing population without damaging natural resources. To
achieve this we need sustainable agriculture.

5. Milching Animals
Shelter-
Shelters should be constructed in such a way that it
provides a comfortable resting place for the animals.
It must contain facilities for feeding, watering and
protection from rain, wind, Sun, cold and dampness.
A shed measuring six square metres is ideal for Indian
cows. Buffaloes require a little more space. Proper
cleaning of the shelter is necessary not only for the
production of clean milk but also for the health of the
animal. The floor of the shed must be sloping, to
facilitate cleaning and keeping their resting place dry.
The shed should have cross ventilation with sufficient
number of inlets and outlets.

6. Nutrition
The food of dairy animals needs to serve two basic
purposes:
Maintenance
This is the food required to support the basic
functions of life of the animal.
Milk Production
This is the type of food required during the lactation
period.
Animal feeds on:
Roughage
This includes fibres like green fodder, silage, hay and
leguminous plants like berseem, lucerne and cowpea.

7. Fish Farming
This includes inland and
marine fisheries, aquaculture
and pisiculture. Fish is a source
of high quality animal protein
and a rich source of minerals
like calcium, phosphorus and
iron. India abounds in fish,
both fresh water and marine.

8. Freshwater Fisheries
There are fish that are sustained in water bodies like
ponds, tanks, lakes, rivers, back waters and marshy
swamps. Inland or fresh water fisheries can be divided
into: Culture fishery - In culture fishery, the fish seed
has to be sown, tended, nursed, reared and finally
harvested when grown to table size.
Capture fishery - Capture fishery does not involve
sowing fish seeds. It involves capturing fish naturally
available in fresh water bodies.
Marine Fisheries
These are fish that are sustained in salt-water bodies
like seas and oceans. This requires mechanisation.
Fishing trawlers fitted with sophisticated electronic
fish locating equipment are used for deep-sea fishing.
Some marine fish are Bombay duck, Catfish,
Mackerels, Red mullet, Sardine etc.

9. Freshwater Fisheries
There are fish that are sustained in water bodies like
ponds, tanks, lakes, rivers, back waters and marshy
swamps. Inland or fresh water fisheries can be divided
into: Culture fishery - In culture fishery, the fish seed
has to be sown, tended, nursed, reared and finally
harvested when grown to table size.
Capture fishery - Capture fishery does not involve
sowing fish seeds. It involves capturing fish naturally
available in fresh water bodies.
Marine Fisheries
These are fish that are sustained in salt-water bodies
like seas and oceans. This requires mechanisation.
Fishing trawlers fitted with sophisticated electronic
fish locating equipment are used for deep-sea fishing.
Some marine fish are Bombay duck, Catfish,
Mackerels, Red mullet, Sardine etc.

10. Dependence on Plants and
Animals
Of all the living organisms, only plants are
autotrophs i.e., they are capable of
synthesizing their own food. Animals are
heterotrophs i.e. they are incapable of
synthesizing their own food. They depend on
plants and other animals for food. Man also
being a heterotroph, gets his food from plants
as well as animals.

11. Some of the food items obtained from animals are
milk, meat (goat, sheep, cow), chicken, fish and eggs.
To fulfill our food requirements, India produces 360
million tonnes of plant products and 88 million
tonnes of animal products annually. With increase in
population there has to be an increase in food
resources. Care must be taken to see that there is a
good distribution system so that people in all parts of
the country get a regular supply of food at reasonable
prices and there is no wastage of food material. Since
plants are a major source of food, we must have an
efficient and successful crop management system - by
crop we mean plants yielding food. Crop management
includes various steps which are taken for the
production storage and distribution of food materials
to ensure their availability at all places at all times. An
efficient management of food resources is necessary
to provide adequate nutrition to all the people and to
eliminate hunger and starvation in the country

12. Natural Fertilizers
Constant use of the soil leads to the loss of its
important nutrients particularly nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium and thus the soil loses
its fertility. For the healthy growth of the plant
these deficiencies in the soil have to be
replenished with the use of certain materials
called fertilizers. These can be classified under
two groups.

13. Manures
Manures are organic materials added to the soil to increase
crop production. They are biological in origin. The organic
matter content is bulky and large and the nutrient content
is small. They have the following effect on the soil: They
supply nutrients to the soil. Since the manures contain
nutrients in small quantities they have to be used in bulk
Since the manure contains a lot of organic matter, it
increases the water holding capacity in sandy soils and
drainage in clayey soils
Organic manures provide food for soil organisms like
earthworms which are responsible for improving soil
quality
Organic manures include (i) Farmyard manure (FYM), (ii)
Compost, (iii) Green manure, (iv) Vermi compost

14. Compost
This consists of a variety of farm wastes such as farm weeds,
straw, sugarcane refuse, rotting vegetables, kitchen wastes,
crop stubble, ground nut and rice husk. Composting is a
biological process in which aerobic and anaerobic
microorganisms decompose organic matter. A trench of
suitable size 4-5 m long, 1.5 to 1.8 m broad and 1.0 to 1.8 m
deep is dug. A layer of well mixed refuse of about 30 cm
thickness is spread in the pit. A slurry of cow dung, earth
and water is poured over this layer to keep it moist.
Another layer of the mixed refuse is spread in the pit till
the heap rises to a height of 45 to 60 cm above ground level.
Finally the top is covered with a thin layer of mud. After
three months of decomposition the layers are well mixed
and covered again. Three months later the compost is
ready to be used in the fields.

15. Green Manure
Green manuring is the practice of growing and
ploughing in, the green crops, into the soil. It is a
cheap and effective method that increases soil
fertility as it can supplement farmyard and other
organic manures and is more cost effective. Green
manures add nitrogen and organic matter to the
soil for improving crop productivity. They also
improve soil aeration and drainage conditions.
Both leguminous and non-leguminous plants are
grown for making green manure.

16. Vermicompost
Vermicompost is a type of soil made by
earthworms and microorganisms as they eat
through organic wastes. The soil thus produced is
mainly worm excreta and finely ground soil.
Organic wastes can be collected and fed on by
worms so that the end product is the broken down
version of the original organic wastes. Worm
castings (excreta) in the vermicompost have
nutrients that are 97% utilizable by plants.
Besides providing nutrients to plants, worms also
upturn the soil thus making the soil lighter.

17. Sustainable Agriculture
Sustainability means keeping an effort going
continuously, or the ability to last out and keep
from falling. So sustainable agriculture means
successful management of resources for
agriculture to satisfy the changing human needs,
while maintaining or enhancing the quality of
environment and conserving natural resources

18. Importance of Sustainable
Agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is an agricultural production
and distribution system that Achieves the integration
of natural biological cycles and controls
Protects and renews soil fertility and the natural
resource base
Optimizes the management and use of on-farm
resources
Reduces the use of non-renewable resources and
purchased production inputs
Provides an adequate and dependable form of income
Promotes opportunity in family farming and farm
communities

19. Sustainable agriculture can be
achieved by adapting:
 Mixed farming
 Mixed cropping
 Crop rotation
 Crop selection
 Varietal improvement

20. Mixed Farming
While modern day farmers specialize in one agricultural sector, either
dairy or growing potatoes, their predecessors kept a wide array of
farm animals and planted many different kinds of field crops. Their
farms were remarkably self sufficient, producing eggs, meat, milk,
vegetables and grains for the family and all the fodder and hay for
the farm animals. The manure piled up in manure pits was sufficient
for fertilizing the fields. The oxen were used to draw water from the
well and help plough the fields. In this system of farming there is a
natural cycle where products and even waste from one sphere of
activity is put to good use in another sphere. Hence, mixed farming
can be defined as a system of farming on a particular farm to sustain
and satisfy the essential needs of the farmers. Several farmers still
practice mixed farming, which includes crop production, raising of
livestock, poultry, fish and bee keeping and piggery.
 The sustainability of mixed farming system depends largely on
quality of soil and livestock, location, topography, water facilities,
available technology and economic considerations.

21. A sustainable system ensures continued fertility
and efficient utilization of all resources in
relation to farming system. Some of the
important farming systems are:
 Food-fodder Farming System
 Growing food grains like rice, maize, wheat and
fodder crops like sorghum, oat and berseem
 Agro-forestry System
 Raising crops along with trees like silver oak with
pepper, silver oak with coffee etc.
 Horti-pastoral System
 Growing fodder grasses with fruit trees

22. Salient Features of Mixed
Cropping
Mixed cropping is growing of two or more crops
simultaneously on the same piece of land. It is
also known as multiple cropping. This type of
cropping leads to an improvement in the fertility
of the soil and hence, increase in crop yield
because when the two crops are properly chosen
the products and refuse from one crop plant help
in the growth of the other crop plant and vice-
versa. Mixed cropping is an insurance against
crop failure due to abnormal weather conditions.

23. Patterns of Different Types Of Crop
 Some successful mixed cropping practices are:
 Soyabean + Pigeon pea
 Maize + udad dal (Black gram)
 Pigeon pea + Mung dal (Green gram)
 Groundnut + Sunflower
 Sorghum + Pigeon pea
 Wheat + Chickpea
 Barley + Chickpea
 Wheat + Mustard
 Cotton + Groundnut
 Mixed cropping has proved successful because of the
right selection of crops.