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Part II :
Livestock Census
Karnataka is the 9
th
largest state in cattle and buffalo population in the country, accounting for
4.3 per cent of the total population as per the latest Livestock Census, 2012. About half of the total
bovine population is indigenous cattle and the rest is almost equally shared by crossbred cattle and
buffalo population. The share of crossbreds to bovine population has increased from 4 per cent in 1992
to 22 per cent in 2012, while that of buffalo has marginally increased from 24 per cent to 27 per cent.
Both indigenous cattle and buffalo population registered an annual decline of 4.5 per cent and
4.3 per cent respectively between 2007 and 2012 census periods, while that of crossbred cattle increased
by 5.8 per cent. Farmers in the districts of Bangalore, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Dakshina Kannada,
Chamarajanagar, Mandya, Ramanagara etc have more than 40 per cent crossbred animals in their herds,
which have helped them generate substantial income through dairying.