By Dr. Smruti Smita Mohapatra

Context

The majority of livestock output is produced in traditional agropastoral systems. There are 500 million pastoralists involved in the pastoral production system around the world.there are around 13 million pastoralists in India. Pastoralism contributes to 3% of the national Gross Domestic Product. Livestock maintained in nomadic systems include cows, buffalo, ducks, guinea fowls, donkeys, goats, pigs, sheep, camels, horses, and yaks. In January 2023, a Pastoral Cell was set up in the Ministry on persuasion and demands. The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Govt. of India has taken the historic initiative to enumerate pastoral livestock separately under the 21st Livestock Census for the first time in the country. Thus, the livestock of over 75 pastoralist communities spread across 17 states and two Union Territories in the country will be enumerated. With the collective efforts of pastoralist communities, the Pastoral Census Support Cell (comprising of CSOs such as Sahjeevan, Centre for Pastoralism, RRAN-WASSAN, and RLN-FES) and the Animal Husbandry Statistics Division of the Ministry, the first-ever Pastoral Livestock Census begins from September 2024.  The state Animal Husbandry Department is the nodal agency for the implementation of the Livestock Census in the state. The enumerators and supervisors are the primary workers ensuring door-to-door collection of data in a Mobile App for the Census developed by the Animal Husbandry Statistics (AHS) Division of the Ministry.

Who is a pastoral?

Pastoralists are the moving livestock-keeping communities that migrate seasonally in search of feed and water. The Livestock Census 2024 Instruction Manual (Draft) defines pastorals as the ones whose animals should be away from the village atleast for one month and animals should be partially dependent on common resources like water resources, grazing sites, pastures, grasslands, village commons, etc. Both the owner and herder (in case the owner and herder are different) are subject to fulfilling the above principles. The household in the village will be considered a pastoral household, where all or any member in the household is involved in pastoralism. Pastoralist groups found in movement during the census may be tracked back to their permanent household to be considered under the Pastoral Livestock Census. Pastoralist groups living at their permanent household or any temporary point of movement in the states where they will be identified, are to be entered in the name of the state of origin.

Pastoralism in Odisha

In the eastern region of India, more than 2.5 million people from various communities in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal rely on sheep rearing for rural livelihood. These nomadic pastoralists travel with livestock while facing various challenges such as varying climate, and limited access to commons. Furthermore, some states/UT recognize them as scheduled tribes/castes, while others consider them to be other backward classes. The Pastoral Livestock Census 2024 Guidebook enlists Gouda/Yadav and Gaderia as the pastoralist communities in Odisha. However, many communities are into pastoral livestock production systems in the state. Nomadic pastoralists in Odisha move with their pigs monthly based on the resources at hand and the seasons. Pig pastoralists in coastal districts rely on saline vegetation and fisheries waste to survive. Ghasi, Golla, Kela, and Khedia are the pastoralists in Odisha. Leheri is the traditional pastoralist group in Odisha. Gond, Kandh, and Santhali have taken up pastoralism recently. Golla is the semi-nomadic pastoralists who rear the leggy and slow-growing, aggressively grazing Ganjam/Dalua breed of goats and sheep in the Ganjam, Gajapati, and Nayagarh districts. The Golla women are also involved in the rearing of small ruminants. Kela is the semi-nomadic pig pastoralist community in the Nayagarh region. Indigenous breeds of pig in Odisha such as Pakhri, Swara, and Ghantia are used to obtain pork. Tribes of Domb, Oram, Kela, Ghasi, Kandara, Sanara, Khadia, Gond, Santhali, and Leheri rear pigs in Odisha. Ganjam Golla pig is a medium-sized and black-skinned prolific type of grazing breed with a strong snout and a shaped abdomen. Pig pastoralists mostly belong to the lower castes like Domb, Ghasi, Kela, Sanara, Ganda, Bauri, and Kandara in the coastal districts of Cuttack, Puri, Khurdha, Nayagarh, and Balasore. Tribes belonging to Oram, Khadia, and Leheri caste rear pigs of local varieties. Tribes such as Khadia, Oram, Leheri, Kondh, Gond, Santhals, and Munda rear pigs in the districts of Sundargarh, Sambalpur, and Mayurbhanj. Gukha caste in coastal districts of Odisha rear native pigs as a source of livelihood. The Kela tribal pig pastoralists are nomadic, while Oram, Khadia, Leheri, Santhalis, Domb, Ghasi, Sanara, and Patra are sedentary in settlement. Pastoralists like Oram, Khadia, Leheri, Santhalis, Domb, Ghasi, Sanara, and Patra take animals for grazing in forests on every basis. There are also peri-urban pig pastoralists in Odisha. Thus, pig pastoralism in Odisha encompasses a few UN Sustainable Development Goals that sustain food security, zero hunger, livelihood, and climate action.

Way forward

Though the Livestock Census happens every five years, most of the pastoralists have always been left behind due to a lack of awareness, or constant migration. For the first time, official data on the number of pastoralist families, the number of animals, and keeping breeds of the state will be available. The indigenous Chilika buffaloes in Odisha are one such breed. These buffaloes, fed on submerged weeds and aquatic vegetation in the brackish waters of Chilika Lake are known for their fat-rich milk, manure, and draught utility purposes. It will help to develop new schemes and policies for the sustainable livelihood of the pastoralists in the state and country. For the first time in a century of history of the Livestock Census in India, pastoralists will be counted in the Pastoral Livestock Census 2024. Community awareness through village panchayats, social media, and community radio programmes across Odisha is needed. The Pastoral Livestock Census will be a significant step in the list of events leading to 2026, which the UN has declared the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. Engaging with the mobile pastoralists, making them aware, and ensuring that no one is left behind in the Pastoral Livestock Census 2024 are the needs of the hour. Pastoralists are often overlooked during policy formulation. This pastoral livestock census can serve as a call to action for policymakers, urging them to recognize pastoralists' critical role and the urgent need for targeted interventions to empower and uplift these marginalized communities.

 

Dr. Smruti Smita Mohapatra is a veterinarian and researcher who deals with research projects on sustainable livelihoods, cooperatives, indigenous people, pastoralism, and rural development.