SUSTAINABLE SHEEP FARMING IN INDIA: OPPORTUNITIES, CONSTRAINTS, AND FUTURE PATHWAYS

Abstract

Sheep farming is a significant aspect of rural Indian culture, especially in dry and semi-dry areas where agriculture itself is highly unpredictable. The second-largest producer of sheep in the world, India can make its rural economy stronger on the back of sustainable sheep farming. This review evaluates multiple opportunities, existing limitations, and potential future possibilities of sustainable sheep rearing in India. The industry boasts several advantages, such as high production rates of meat, milk, wool, and manure, and an increasing demand for sheep milk due to its economic and nutritional significance. The industry still has many constraints that involve inappropriately managed veterinary facilities, insufficient scientific training, traditional methods used by pastoralists for rearing animals, and negligible access to commercialized markets. These constraints affect both production and profitability among backyard breeders. The paper highlights possible solutions like genetic improvement, enhanced feeding, enhanced health services, value addition, and use of climate-resilient and digital methods. With such problems addressed by collective policy backing, training of farmers, and building of roads, sheep rearing becomes more rewarding and sustainable. The analysis suggests that bringing the local knowledge together with high-tech knowledge and involving the people in decision-making are imperatives to strengthening the sheep-farming enterprise and making it a sustainable and profitable option for Indian rural communities.