SHEEP IN RAJASTHAN By A. K. SEN P. K. GHOSH K. N. GUPTA H. C. BOHRA ¥leAR c:eNTRAL ARID ZONE RESEARCH INSTITUTE JODHPUR SEPTEMBER 1981 CAZRI Monograph No. 14 Published by the Director, Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur and Printed at the Harvard Press, Jodhpur. PREFACE Sheep husbandry has traditionally logical 'picture of the status of ·sheep in been one of, the most viable elements of Rajasthan, The Division of Basic Re­ the agro-economic system' of the State sources Studies of C. A. Z, R. I. has of Rajasthan. Recognising the import­ acquired, through years of painstaking ance of sheep rearing, particularly in the survey, a wealth of information on cli­ marginal lands in the drier western part mate, land use, vegetation types, etc, of of the state, a Sheep and .Wool Depart­ different parts of the state, while the ment of the State Government has been Sheep and Wool Department and the functioning as an apex body for coordinat­ Livestock Census Department of the ing research, devclopment and exten­ Government of Rajasthan have been col­ sion efforts in this area. The National lecting valuable information on sheep Commission on Agriculture has, in its breeds - their population densities and report on developmental strategies for distribution patterns, wool production, the desert areas, laid strong emphasis on etc, I am glad that Scientists of the Divi­ the need for strengthening the sheep sec­ sions of Basic Resources Studies and tor of Rajasthan, While C, A. Z. R. I, Animal Studies at C, A. Z, R. I. have has since its inception, been involved in joined hands to collate, for the first time sheep research, both under farm and in this country, the avaHable information rangeland conditions, a full-fledged sheep on Rajasthan's sheep breeds and their and Wool Research Institute of the relationship to their respective environ­ I. C. A. R. has also been operating at ments, The maps and Tables in this Avikanagar in this state, Lately, sheep monograph provides a good deal of quan­ development activities have been initi­ titative information on this relationship ated in the districts coverl~d by the and serve to present an ecological frame­ D, p, A. p, work within which the sheep sector in Thus, while t~ere has been a consci­ Rajasthan is operating. ousness at official levels about the need It is hoped that the information pre­ for revamping the sheep sector in Raja­ sented here will be useful to sheep re­ sthan, no attempt seems to have been search and environment programme. made so far to 'project ,an integrated eco- H, S, MANN Director Central Arid Zone Research Institute, 23 March 1981 Jodhpur. INTRODUCTION Sheep husbandry has been practised tion of animals, after the hunter gather­ in Rajasthan for centuries. In fact, the ing stage, and the settled forms of agri­ ideal land use practice for the dry, west­ culture. The impact of physical forces ern part of the state would seem to be in sustaining this sociological phenomen­ sheep and goat husbandry, as rainfall on is clearly evident. The excavations of is too uncertain, and too unpredictable Harappan and pre-Harappan settlements here to sustain any sedentary form of along the bed of the now dry Ghaggar agriculture. Basically, sheep husbandry river show evidences of a thriving, crop­ involves transhumance, i.e. periodical growing community of 4000 years ago. migration of the flocks, in search of for­ When sudden and successive flooding of age, particularly in years of drought and the river wiped out these settlements, famine. In the sociological milieu of the only vast stretches of sand formed the desert, this hard task of driving the sheep landscape. In other parts of western Raja­ over vast distances and bringing them sthan, adverse elemental forces of a di­ back to their home tracts as the situation verse nature created similarly inhos­ improves, has been traditionally assigned ritab'e terrains. The net result w:as that to a dedicated community - the Raika. the impetus for sedentary agriculture got :rhese people have kept alive a way of checked with time and pastoral noma­ life that is almost akin to pastoral no­ dism became the mainstay of human sur­ madism - which once held sway over vival in this region. The preeminence of vast tracts of the Central Asian uplands. livestock husbandry in western Ra,jasthan Thus, sheep rearing is not just another may thus be ascribed to historio-geo­ means of earning a livelihood in Raja­ grapI:tical reasons, although the continu­ sth~n, it is interwoven with the whole ing impact of biotic interference on the texture of rural, society here. eco-system has undoubtedly aggravated The origin of the sheep breeds of the 'dust bowl' conditions. Rajasthan is not known with any cer­ The sheep has, therefore, sufficient tainty. However, it has been believed, reason to be present in large numbers in on the basis of certain inherited blood Rajasthan. Its contribution to the sus­ characteristics of the present day breeds, tenance of the rural economy of the state that their ancestors could ha.ve descend­ has been well documented, although poor ed from the mountainous regions of Af­ husbandry conditions, meagre feed and ghanistan. The continued prevalence of water availability, intense solar radiation, pastoral nomadism in this region is in­ the need to walk over long distances in dicative of an arrested society, some­ search of forage and the generally low where inidway between the domestica- genetic potential of the animals preclude r i ii J any possibility of even a fair return to naturally formed the basis for an ecolo­ the stock - owners. The recent formation gical evaluation of the whole situation. of the Wool Marketing Federation in the As far as we .are aware, this monograph state is aimed at mitigating some of provides the first cartographic rep, esen­ these disadvantages and at ensuring a tation of all relevant aspects of the eco­ fair deal to the wool growers. logy of sheep in Rajasthan. We sincerely In order to properly assess the status thank all those numerous workers and and potentials of the sheep sector in Raja­ agencies whose painstaking work has sthan, it is necessary to have re­ made this monograph possible. course to some sort of perspective We wish to record our deep sense of planning, taking into consideration the gratitude for the inspiration, guidance ecological imperatives that govern the and support that we have constantly re­ flow of the marketable produce. The ob­ ceived from Dr. H. S. Mann, Direclor, jective of this monograph is to provide and Dr. K. A. Shankamarayan, Head, the needed perspective. A good deal of Division of Basic Resources Studies, livestock census data- collected by vari­ CAZRI, in the course of preparation of ous state government agencies have of this monograph. We would also like to necessity been used for this purpose. thank Shri B. L. Tak and Shri R. K. The survey reports of the Division of Abichandani for their help in the produ.r Basic Resources Studies of CAZRI have tion of this monograph. Authors CONTENTS Pref£lce Introduction i Chapter I Livestock poplilation aAd grazing land per head of animal 1 Chapter II Sheep concentration zones in Rajasthan 9 Chapter III Distribution of sheep breeds in Rajasthan 18 Chapter IV Production of wool in Rajasthan 25 Literature consulted 37 CAZRI Monograph Series 38 CHAPTER I Livestock Population And Grazing Land Per .Head Of Animal The total livestock population in Raja­ and their pressure on grazing land in sthan during the livestock census in 1972 different climatic regions of Rajasthan. was estimated as 3,88,77,506 out of Maps 1 & 2 and Table 1 clearly which cattle, goats, sheep, buffaloes and indicate that there is a distinct others (including horses, camels and other relation between rainfall and the distri­ livestock, etc.) constitute 32.07, 31.2R, bution of different livestock species and 22.00, 11.81 and 2.81 per cent respec· grazing land in Rajasthan. Thus, in the tively of the total livestock population. arid zone where pressure on the grazing The available grazing area per head of land is very high, sheep and goat pre­ livestock is, however, very small, viz. dominate. In the semi-arid zone, sheep 0.20 ha. The total grazing land com­ and goats are important in the Aravalli prises 79,18,869 ha which constitutes areas whereas ca'tle predominate in the 23.14 per cent of the total geographical plains. The number of buffaloes increase area of the state. This indicates that the with increase in the rainfall. Cattle are, livestock population in Rajasthan is con­ however, important in both the sub­ siderably high and that pressure on the humid and the humid belts. While the grazing land is also great. The net result percentage of grazing areas is more in has been overgrazing and deterioration the Aravalli districts, in Rajasthan as a of the surface vegetation - conditions whole, grazing area/livestock is general­ largely responsible for increased deser­ ly low (Map 3). tification hazards. In general, the pressure of livestock Table 1 (A,B,C&D) gives an account population on grazing area is quite of the variation in livestock population high in all these climatic belts. r 1 2 J Table I. Livestock population in Rajasthan Grazing Total Livestock population (%) Grazing S. area, a.rea, per District live- Others % No. Cattle Buffa- Sheep Goats of total livestock stock loes area in ha I-A. Arid zone (Annu'al rainfall below 500 mm) I. Barmer J974350 9.09 0.68 28.75 55.J5 6.30 22.08 0.32 2.