IMPROVEMENT IN LIVESTOCK STATUS THROUGH SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION: CASE OF TWO SEMI-ARID DISTRICTS OF MADHYA PRADESH IN INDIA

Livestock are an essential component of lives of rural farmers of India and it is important to assess how proper Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) can lead to improvement in the status of fodder and livestock and in turn improve the livelihood of the poor. The present paper tries to report fodder and livestock status through soil and water conservation taking case of two semi-arid districts of Madhya Pradesh in India. The reported improvement in fodder ranged from 30 % to 100 % in Ratlam district and Mandsaur district and most fodder development had taken place in the tribal belt of Ratlam district. The net change observed in number of local breed cows in Ratlam district is 0.37 units of cow/household which implies that almost every third household had purchased a new cow. In Mandsaur district, almost every fifth household had purchased a cow. Net increase in income of Rs. 2214.67 from sale of milk and other products was recorded in Ratlam district and in Mandsaur district it was Rs.1625 in Lower Reaches and Rs. 1278 in Upper Reaches. The paper also suggested the species those utilized for moisture conservation as well as for fodder purpose during lean periods.