Trends in the Growth of Dairy Animal Population in Andhra Pradesh, India

The study focuses on the changes that have taken place in the bovine population, cows and buffalos, in India and Andhra Pradesh. As per the 20th Livestock Census, the total livestock population is 535.78 million in India in the year 2019 and it shows an increase of 4.6 % over livestock census of 2012. However, the cattle and buffalo population of Andhra Pradesh is 10.82 million in 2019 and it shows a decline compared to previous census. When the trends in the growth of cattle and buffalo population of the state from the year 1956 is observed it is evident that the cattle population is consistently declining while that of buffalo population is increasing over the years. However, there is a decline in the buffalo population of the state in the recent past. Though the population of cattle and buffalos declined, the milk production in the state has remarkably increased and this could be attributed to the successful implementation of breeding programs and to removal of less productive and unproductive animals from the population. .