National Livestock Mission – Best Scheme Ever for Livestock & Poultry Development

Executive summary

NLM or National Livestock Mission is a central government scheme for the promotion of mainly backyard poultry & small ruminant (goat and sheep) production along with some other components like fodder resources development and insurance. It is an umbrella scheme which certainly increase employment generation, improves food security and enhances animal productivity. Although this scheme is pretty old but last year (2021) it is again revised and realign by the Department of Animal Husbandry.

Brief outlay

To stimulate growth in the livestock sector, making animal husbandry more profitable for the 10 crore farmers involved in the sector. The central government will invest Rs. 9,800 crore on livestock development over the next five years in an effort to attract nearly Rs. 55,000 crore outside investment. It involves share of different institutions like Central Government, State Governments, State Cooperatives, Financial institutions, External funding agencies and other stakeholders.

Introduction and rationale

NLM was launched in the 2014-15 financial year and seeks to ensure quantitative and qualitative improvement in livestock production systems and capacity building of all stakeholders. The scheme is being implemented as a sub-scheme of the White Revolution – Rashtriya Pashudhan Vikas Yojana from April 2019.
The NLM scheme has been revised and realigned from F/Y 2021-22 with the aim of developing of employment, entrepreneurship & animal productivity to increase food security in the country.

Concept

With NLM our government aimed to produce more. The more we produce, the more we can feed ourselves.
When we produce more food, our domestic food security increases, which means that we’ll have more to offer to our export market. This in turn increases demand for our products and gives us greater access to foreign currency and resources.
In this post, I will share my three top tips for organizing markets: traceability and education.

Organizing markets ensures traceability and education for both farmers and consumers. It also allows for efficient use of feed and fodder and reduces environmental burden in the process. It also makes it easier to manage income streams and climate change. When you organize markets, you’re opening up access to markets for farmers who might not otherwise have been able to sell their produce due to insufficient infrastructure or lack of funds. A well-organized market allows farmers to sell their products at a fair price with little risk involved on either side of the transaction.

his process of organization in NLM also help reduce antibiotic resistance by making sure that all farmers have access to effective treatment when they need them most— education ensuring that those same antibiotics aren’t overused so as not to create unnecessary strains of bacteria resistant to known antibiotics. I am connecting this point because learned and educated young entrepreneurs are more vigilant and responsible for the environment.

In addition to these benefits, organizing markets has been shown to contain emerging diseases like IBR, PPR, BVD virus, contain E. coli bacteria, help prevent climate change by reducing carbon emissions, reduce resource utilization by using less land and water resources, help improve animal welfare through better feed management practices such as good nutrition or feeding animals locally sourced grains instead of importing them from other countries away from their home farms where they would otherwise be fed outside of their natural habitat; all of which contribute to improving animal welfare overall which leads us down a more sustainable path forward in terms of reducing our environmental impact on Earth’s ecosystem.

NLM – Mission Objectives

Employment generation through entrepreneurship development in small ruminant, poultry and piggery sector & Fodder sector
Increase of per animal productivity through breed improvement
Increase in production of meat, egg, goat milk, wool and fodder
Increasing availability of fodder and feed to substantially reduce the demand – through strengthening the fodder seed supply chain and availability of certified fodder seeds
Encouraging establishment of fodder processing units to reduce the demand supply gap
Promoting risk management measures including livestock insurance for farmers
Promoting applied research in prioritized areas of poultry, sheep, goat, feed and fodder
Capacity building of state functionaries and livestock owners through strengthened extension machinery to provide quality extension service to farmers.
Promoting skill based training and dissemination of technologies for reducing cost of production, and improving production of livestock sector

Mission Design

Mainly 3 components are there in this scheme:

Breed Development of Livestock and Poultry
Feed and Fodder Development
Innovation and Extension

Point 1 proposes to bring sharp focus on entrepreneurship development and breed improvement in poultry, sheep, goat and piggery by providing the incentivization to the Individual, FPOs, FCOs JLGs, SHGs, Section 8 companies for entrepreneurship development and also to the State Government for breed improvement infrastructure. Second point aims towards strengthening of fodder seed chain to improve availability of certified fodder seed required for fodder production and encouraging entrepreneurs for establishment of fodder Block/Hay Bailing/Silage Making Units through incentivization. Third point if for universities and institutions, aims to incentivize the Institutes, Universities, Organizations carrying out research and development related to sheep, goat, pig and feed and fodder sector, extension activities, livestock insurance and innovation.

Institutional Structure

Empowered Committee (EC) – Members are from DADH. The Empowered Committee will be responsible for overall monitoring of the progress of the scheme, approval of the scheme guidelines, provide policy direction, and approve necessary changes if any. It will have the power to update the cost norms of different activities as required from time to time. The EC will also have power to delegate responsibilities to the Project Approval Committee for approval of projects.
Project Approval Committee (PAC) – It have members of central and state governments. The PAC will examine, verify the feasibility, viability of the project received from the SLEC appraised by the Project Appraisal and Monitoring Unit and recommend for release of grants. The PAC will also monitor the implementation of project(s) at the ground level. The PAC will also be empowered to suggest changes inguidelines which will be approved by the Empowered Committee.
State Level Executive Committee (SLEC) – Members from central and state governments. It examine the project proposals submitted by beneficiaries and State agencies through SIA, for approval and will confirm the availability of State Share and beneficiary contribution if any as per the specific scheme guidelines and will forward the same to NLM division of DADH, GOI for consideration and approval.
State Implementing Agency (SIA) – State Implementing Agency of the State Animal Husbandry Department will invite proposals through Expression of Interest (EOI) from eligible beneficiaries/agencies including the Entrepreneurship proposal.
SIA is also the NLM implementing agency established under the State Animal Husbandry Department.

Functions of SIA

This is the agency to which one has to submit its business proposal and applications shall invite the names of entrepreneurs/ eligible entities through expression of interest.
This agency scrutinize the proposals and applications and if they are satisfied than they will recommend the application of the entrepreneurs/ eligible entities to avail balance (loan) financing for the project through scheduled banks or financial institutions.
Once the funding of loan is approved by the bank or financial institution, proposal will be placed before the State Level Executive Committee (SLEC) for approval of subsidy.
After the approval of the projects by the SLEC, the projects will be sent to the Central Government through online portal developed for uploading applications under NLM.
It is again send to PAC, they look in to the project and it is PAC who releases subsidy grants.

Eligibility Criteria for the Entrepreneurs/ Eligible Entities to avail benefit under NLM

Entrepreneurs or entities must be trained in the area in which they are seeking help under NLM or they have some expert member of that area in their team or have advisor/consultant.
Have got the sanction loan for project by the bank or financial institutions furnished bank guarantee from scheduled bank along with appraisal of project for its validity by bank where it is holding the account.
Entrepreneurs/ Eligible Entities should have own land or lease land
KYC documents

Project Approval of entrepreneurship programmes:

Entrepreneurs submit application to SIA through NLM portal.
Application will be scrutinize by SIA and it will recommend it for loan by scheduled bank.
After SIA approval bank will consider application for loan.
Once loan is approved, SIA send proposal to SLEC for recommending the application to central government.
When SLEC approve it, proposal will be send by SIA to DADH & they release subsidy grant through PAC.

Fund Flow for the Entrepreneurship programmes (Central sector Component)

All the subsidy amount will be channelized through the Small Industries Development Bank of India(SIDBI).
DADH transfer grants to SIDBI and SIDBI send in to the account of applicant which is in loan providing bank or financial institution.
The SIDBI on receipt of the subsidy component, shall release the first instalment of subsidy to the appropriate account of Entrepreneurs/ Eligible Entities after the release of first instalment of loan.
SIDBI have to open a dedicated account of applicant and in that account it will get subsidy from DADH.
In case of the self-financing project, the first instalment of back ended subsidy will be provided by SIDBI to the lending scheduled bank where the beneficiary has account.
The first instalment of subsidy will be released only when the beneficiary has made expenditure of 25% cost for the project towards infrastructure and has been verified by the State Implementing Agency.
If beneficiaries in self financing mode require more capital beyond subsidy, they need to provide Bank Guarantee from the scheduled bank for the remaining cost of the project.
This Bank Guarantee shall be valid for three years and to be drawn in favor of DADH. The original Bank Guarantee is to be kept in the safe custody of the State Implementing Agency.
The application for entrepreneurship project and also the Central Sector projects will be accepted through online portal to be developed by the DAHD through Small Industries Development Banks of India (SIDBI).

Submission of projects under Central Sector fodder seed multiplication subcomponents:

Application for this part is only taken from organizations and not from individuals, this document is written only for the components which are available for individuals.

Sub-mission on Breed Development of Livestock and Poultry:

Poultry – Objectives

Bringing unorganized rural poultry farming sector into organized sector
Promotion of entrepreneurship in the field of rural poultry in a sustainable manner
Establishment of forward and backward linkages
Popularizing the different alternative non conventional low cost feeding

Silent features

The Entrepreneurship in tis scheme will be developed by inviting the individual, Self Help Group (SHG)/Framers Producer Organizations (FPO)/Farmers Cooperatives (FCOs)/Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) and Section 8 companies.
They are encourage establishment of Parent Farm, Rural Hatchery, brooder cum mother unit for Production of Hatching Eggs, and Chicks and rearing of the said chick up to four week in the mother unit.
Emphasis will be given to those entrepreneurs who will be able to establish forward and backward linkage
The Central Government will provide 50% capital subsidy for the cost of the project for establishment of Parent Farm, Rural hatchery and Mother Unit with minimum 1000 parent layers.
The Entrepreneurs / Eligible Entities need to arrange the remaining amount through bank loan or from the financial institution or self-financing.
No commercial broiler or layer unit can be made it is only for the bird maintained in the parent farm of Low Input Technology Birds or such kind of bird which will be sustained at the free range management system.
CARI, CPDO State University farms will provide birds with certificates
One Time 50% capital subsidy of the total project cost will be provided with maximum subsidy up to Rs. 25 lakh for each unit. It means total 50lakh project.
Subsidy will be the capital subsidy and provided in two equal instalments. First instalment will be released upfront to the scheduled bank by SIDBI (credited to the Entrepreneurs’ account after the bank or financial institution releases First Instalment of loan to the beneficiary and its confirmation by State Implementing Agency.
Beneficiaries will be eligible for release of the second instalment by SIDBI after completion of the project and certified so by the State Implementing Agency.
In case of the self-financing project, the project needs to be appraised by the bank where the Entrepreneurs/ Eligible Entity have account. The first instalment of 50% subsidy will be provided into the lending bank by SIDBI where the beneficiary has account. The subsidy will be released only when the beneficiary has made expenditure of 25% cost for the project towards infrastructure and has been verified by the State Implementing Agency. Remaining amount of 50% subsidy will be provided y SIDBI after completion of the project and verified by State Implementing Agency.

Goat Diseases Syllabus.pdf from Ibne Ali

Establishment of Entrepreneur for breed development in small ruminant sector (sheep and goat farming):

To develop entrepreneurs in small ruminant sector
To develop the sustainable business model on sheep-goat
To incentivize Individuals Entrepreneurs, FPOs, FCOs, SHGs, JLGs, and Section 8 companies for development of integrated rural sheep-goat production system.
Conversion of the small ruminant sector from unorganised sector to organised sector through promotion of entrepreneurship & investment and creation of forward & backward linkages
Spreading awareness about scientific rearing practices, nutrition, disease prevention etc .
Promotion of stall feeding model of sheep and goat rearing.

Silent features

The Entrepreneurs / Eligible Entities can establish sheep and goat breeding unit with minimum 500 females and 25 males. The sheep and goat unit to be established with the High Genetic Variety used for producing Goat milk, meet and fine wool quality. The breed of sheep and goat can be selected from the list provided with this guideline or in consultation with the State Government.
The Central Government will provide up to 50% back ended subsidy for the capital cost of the project.
The Entrepreneurs / Eligible Entities need to arrange the remaining amount through bank loan or from the financial institution or self-financing.
50% capital subsidy up to Rs. 50 lakh in two instalments. Subsidy will be the capital subsidy and provided in two equal instalments, total project cost will be around 1Cr.
Subsidy will be the capital subsidy and provided in two equal instalments, procedure is just like poultry as stated above.
State Implementing agency will follow up the project for the period of 2 years after completion with regards to its operation