XVIII. SEGURO COLECTIVO DE GASTOS MÉDICOS MAYORES

Crop-Livestock Systems are heterogeneous in India, and a total of 18 systems have been identified. An important feature of these systems is their geographical contiguity. Paddy or wheat is the dominant activity in 50% of the systems. Sugarcane, groundnut, soybean and coarse cereals dominate in others. Dairying is an important activity in most systems. Cattle or buffalo dominate two systems, and are the second or third largest activity in others. Thus, livestock are an important source of livelihood for the rural people. Their share in agricultural income varies from 13% to 41% across systems, and has been growing faster in recent years compared to the crop sector.

Another important characteristic of mixed farming systems is their domination by smallholders. Average land and livestock holdings are small, but more so in highly populated systems in humid environments.

Livestock productivity is low, but varies across systems. Differences in productivity are mainly due to variations in feed availability, quality of animals and veterinary infrastructure. Feed availability (dry matter equivalent) ranges between

1 to 4 t/Livestock Units in India across CLSs. The proportion of high-yielding crossbreds in cattle population oscillates between less than 10% in some systems to over 50% in others. A similar variability has been observed in the adoption of improved poultry. Nonetheless, productivity is higher in systems better endowed with feed resources and animal health and breeding services. Further, rural poverty is negatively associated with livestock productivity, implying that improving productivity of Crop-Livestock Systems would enable smallholders to escape poverty.

Mixed farming is the norm in Nepal, and as many as nine Crop-Livestock Systems have been identified there. Paddy is the dominant agricultural activity in the irrigated systems spread over the plains i.e., Terai region. Cattle and buffaloes are important species there. In the hill-based CLSs, coarse cereals/wheat are important crops, and cattle and small ruminants are important livestock species. Livestock contribute about a third of the country’s agricultural income. However, the kind of livestock revolution observed elsewhere in South Asia has not occurred in Nepal, mainly due to a lack of income growth and low level of urbanization. Here, the crop sector has grown faster, implying that achieving foodgrain security is still a major concern.

Livestock productivity in Nepal is one of the lowest in South Asia due to a lack of sufficient feed and fodder, poor quality of animals and underdeveloped animal breeding/health services, markets and roads. Nevertheless, there are inter-system differences in productivity within the country. It is higher in the systems located in the Terai region having better feed and fodder availability, higher adoption of improved breeds of cattle and buffalo and a better network of veterinary and other infrastructure. Higher income and urban population -- major drivers of demand growth -- are the incentives to invest in productivity-enhancing technologies and practices. On the other hand, livestock production systems in the hill region are severely constrained by supply-side factors i.e., insufficient feed and lack of access to markets and roads. Common lands and forests that are an important source of feed are under pressure due to increasing human and livestock populations. However, in hill locations closer to demand centers, commercialization of dairy production is taking place.

Since an overwhelming majority of the population in Nepal is rural with high incidence of poverty, improving livestock productivity, which is an important source of livelihood, would help many poor escape poverty.

In Sri Lanka, as in India and Nepal, mixed farming is the dominant form of agricultural production. Livestock contributes 14% to agricultural income and about 35% of farm households are associated with livestock production.

The clustering of agricultural activities yielded six CLSs for Sri Lanka. Paddy is a dominant activity in two of the systems falling in the low country dry and wet agro- ecologies. Plantation in three systems in the up, and mid country agro-ecology, and fruits and vegetables in one system in the low country dry agro-ecology emerged as the other dominant activities. In fact, growing fruits and vegetables are the second most important activity in most CLSs in the country.

Livestock, especially cattle, are important throughout the country. Buffalo is also becoming an important milch species in peri-urban dairying. Goat rearing is practiced on a large scale in the low-country CLSs. Cattle and buffaloes are largely of the indigenous type in most systems, except in the mid- and up country estate- based systems where crossbred cattle are important. Low-producing animals are often left to graze in harvested paddy fields and are moved to scrub land in the crop season.

Milk yield is very low in CLSs in the dry regions. It is higher in systems having a higher population of exotic and crossbred cows, better roads and markets and veterinary infrastructure. Dairy production in the country is under stress. Milk production is almost stagnant, and the country depends on imports to meet growing domestic demand. Productivity of meat animals in Sri Lanka, especially pigs and goats, is the highest in the region.