Parliament Question: Impact of Fodder Shortage

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3885 ANSWERED ON 11th AUGUST, 2026 IMPACT OF FODDER SHORTAGE 3885: SMT. PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA Will the Minister of FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING मत्स्यपालन , पशपु ालन और डये री मंत्री

be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has taken cognizance of the adverse impact of fodder shortage on dairy farmers’ incomes, if so, the details thereof;

(b) the details of dry fodder, green fodder and concentrate feed deficit since 2019 and schemes to increase production and supply, State-wise;

(c) the details of projects supported under the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund

(AHIDF) to establish animal feed plants, State-wise including in Lok Sabha Constituency Wayanad in Kerala; and

(d) whether the Government has taken initiatives to promote alternative green fodder, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING (SHRI RAJIV RANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH)

(a) to (d) As per the assessment made in 2019 by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) - Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute (IGFRI), Jhansi, the country faces estimated deficits of 11.24% in green fodder, 23.4% in dry fodder, and 28.9% in concentrate feed ingredients.

To supplement the efforts of State Governments towards self-sufficiency in fodder, the Department

of Animal Husbandry and Dairying provides support through the following interventions: i. Under National Livestock Mission (NLM), financial assistance is provided for quality fodder seeds production including breeder, foundation, and certified seeds. During last five years, an amount of Rs.1,152.40 Crores has been released and 1.6 lakh tonnes of quality fodder seed produced. Central Agencies like National Seed Corporation Limited(NSCL), National Dairy Development Board(NDDB), Krishi Vikas Sahakari Samiti Limited(KVSSL), Sadbhav Consumers Multi State Cooperative Society Limited(SADBHAV), National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Limited (NCCF), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited(NAFED) and Hindustan Insecticides Limited (HIL) empanelled under National Livestock Mission(NLM) for quality fodder seed production are working in different States across the Country. Further, under NLM-Entrepreneurship Development Programme (NLM-EDP), 50% subsidy (up to Rs.50 lakhs) is offered forestablishing infrastructure like hay/silage/Total Mixed Ration (TMR) blocks and setting up seed processing/grading units. Under this, 204 projects have been approved with a project cost of Rs.201.02 Crores and approved subsidy of Rs.86.65 Crores. List of projects supported under NLM-EDP for hay/silage/Total Mixed Ration (TMR) blocks is given in annexure-I.

ii. Under Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF), 3% interest subvention is provided to individual entrepreneurs, private companies, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs), Section 8 companies and Dairy Cooperatives to establish various infrastructure activities including animal feed plants.

iii. 100 dedicated Fodder-Plus Farmer Producer Organisations have been established by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) across the country to boost local production and supply of fodder. iv. Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying(DAHD) has instructed all the States and Union Territories to establish a State Fodder Task Force to monitor availability, increase fodder cultivation area and ensure convergence with other schemes such as Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar & Ajeevika Mission (Gramin).

v. ICAR-IGFRI, in collaboration with All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Forage Crops, is strengthening national fodder production by establishing over 70 year-round forage gardens across State Agricultural Universities (SAUs), Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) that have trained over 10 lakh farmers and stakeholders, developing 112 high-yielding varieties across 19 crops over the last decade, and formulating area-specific fodder strategies for 29 States. ICAR-IGFRI has developed State- specific fodder development plans for 28 States and one Union Territory.

The State-wise details of projects approved under the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) for establishing animal feed plants is given in annexure-II. No project for Animal Feed Plant has been approved in Wayanad Lok Sabha Constituency.

The Central Government has already taken multiple proactive initiatives to promote alternative green fodder such as spineless cactus, hydroponic fodder, fodder sugarcane, azolla, moringa cultivation under its various schemes viz.,Watershed Development Component- Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana(WDC-PMKSY 2.0), Pradhan Mantri -Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana(PM - RKVY), various Silvi pasture and Horti pasture integration programmes.

*******Annexure-I STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY PART (A) TO (D) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3885 FOR ANSWER ON 11.8.2026 PUT IN BY SMT. PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA ON IMPACT OF FODDER SHORTAGE DUE FOR ANSWER ON 11TH AUGUST , 2026 State-wise status of fodder units approved under NLM-EDP Sl.

No. Name of State Fodder Blocks Silage TMR Hay Total 1 Andhra Pradesh 2 2 1 0 5 2 Chhatisgarh 0 1 0 0 1 3 Gujarat 6 1 0 0 7 4 Haryana 1 1 0 0 2 Jammu & 5 Kashmir 0 1 0 0 1 6 Jharkhand 1 0 0 0 1 7 Karnataka 5 3 1 0 9 Madhya 8 Pradesh 19 50 1 0 70 9 Maharashtra 27 39 0 1 67 10 Mizoram 1 0 0 0 1 11 Punjab 1 4 2 0 7 12 Rajasthan 2 1 0 0 3 13 Tamul Nadu 7 1 0 0 8 14 Telangna 0 4 1 0 5 15 Uttar Pradesh 8 6 1 0 15 16 Uttarakhand 1 0 0 0 1 17 West Bengal 0 1 0 0 1 Total 81 115 7 1 204Annexure-II STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY PART (A) TO (D) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3885 FOR ANSWER ON 11.8.2026 PUT IN BY SMT. PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA, ON IMPACT OF FODDER SHORTAGE DUE FOR ANSWER ON 11TH AUGUST , 2026 State wise list of Animal Feed Plants supported under Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) Sl. State Name Number of Project Cost Interest Subvention No Projects (₹ In Cr.) Released (₹ In Cr.) 1 Andhra Pradesh 4 137.96 4.51 2 Assam 3 39.78 1.50 3 Bihar 4 223.64 10.52 4 Chhattisgarh 4 168.90 6.58 5 Gujarat 3 58.60 2.58 6 Haryana 10 115.71 2.30 7 Himachal Pradesh 1 1.00 0.00 8 Jammu & Kashmir 1 2.94 0.15 9 Jharkhand 2 17.75 0.76 10 Karnataka 15 510.47 20.36 11 Kerala 1 8.62 0.31 12 Madhya Pradesh 6 187.59 10.51 13 Maharashtra 28 433.81 12.57 14 Odisha 9 185.46 8.18 15 Puducherry 1 4.55 0.17 16 Punjab 19 271.42 5.72 17 Rajasthan 5 122.55 7.93 18 Tamil Nadu 15 238.73 13.01 19 Telangana 9 285.00 12.52 20 Uttar Pradesh 13 382.20 16.49 21 Uttarakhand 4 60.83 1.80 22 West Bengal 17 144.95 5.89 Total 174 3602.46 144.36 *******