Care And Management of Livestock During Natural Disaster

The WHO defines Disaster as ‘any occurrence that causes damage, economic destruction, loss of human life and deterioration in health and health services on a scale sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response from outside the affected community or area’. India is one of the top four most disaster-prone country in the world. India, being a vast country with a tropical climate, experiences all types of natural disaster. The frequency of various disaster like droughts, earthquakes, floods, and cyclones is increasing every year. Floods, Drought, earthquakes and cyclones devastate the country with grim regularity with worst affected are the poor and marginalized people of the India. Unfortunately, poverty is most widespread in regions that are more vulnerable to natural disasters - the flood-prone places of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, North Bengal and North Eastern region etc. Small, marginal and landless farmers own 70% of the total livestock which produces 62% of total milk production in India. Natural disasters cause scarcity of livestock feeds, fodders and scenario becomes again worse due to inaccessibility and transportation difficulties of feeds and fodders.