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DAIRYING IN GUJARAT
A Statistical Profile
2013
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PART VI:
FEED RESOURCES
PART VI:
FEED RESOURCES
As against the estimated animals’requirements, feed resources available in Gujarat are lower. In the last
decade (2003 to 2011), shortage of Dry Matter in the State reduced from137 per cent of the requirement
to 66 per cent; Total Digestible Nutrients from 200 per cent to 73 per cent while the Crude Protein
availability increased from -98 per cent to a surplus of 19 per cent.
Eleven cattle feed factories, in the cooperative sector and spread across the State, produced about 2.6
million tonnes of concentrated cattle feed for bovines during 2012-13 and was sold at prices ranging
from Rs. 11.9 to 14.3 a kg. The usage of concentrate increased from 2.1 kg to 2.7 kg per in-milk cattle,
while for buffaloes, it declined from 3.0 kg to 2.7 kg during the same period.
Green fodder is a comparatively economical source of nutrients. However, the availability of green
fodder is lower than estimated requirement. In Gujarat, the area under fodder crop has fallen from 10.5
to 7 per cent of the gross sown area over the last eight years.