The creation of a separate ministerial portfolio for animal husbandry, dairying, and fisheries for the first time by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his second term has aroused keen interest in the agricultural policy space. With Modi’s goal of doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022 dominating the political narrative and the overall policy framework, and the livestock and fisheries sub-sectors contributing significantly higher to the agricultural GDP compared to the crop production sub-sector, the new ministry has been hailed by stakeholders, mostly in the dairy industry. India being the largest milk producer in the world surely deserves to have a separate line ministry dedicated to the sector, after all.

The former Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries (DAHDF) was responsible for overseeing matters related to livestock production, preservation, protection from diseases, improvement of stocks, dairy development, and also matters pertaining to the Delhi Milk Scheme, the National Dairy Development Board, and inland and marine fishing and fisheries. It advised state governments and Union Territories on formulation of policies and programs related to animal husbandry, dairy development and fisheries. Formed in Feb. 1991, the department came under the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. Earlier this year, a new Department of Fisheries was created out of the former DAHDF, and is now part of the new ministry. While the mandate of the ministry is yet to be elucidated, this could—potentially—be a welcome move.

The “allied” sectors of the usual “agriculture and allied,” as is common in official and academic parlance, have largely been neglected for a long time, despite their growing significance in the agricultural economy and for the food and nutrition security of the country. The importance of animal husbandry, dairying, and fisheries can hardly be overstated in times when agricultural diversification is being rallied as one the most important drivers of growth in rural incomes and realizing the PM’s vision of doubling farmers’ income. The 19th Livestock Census (2012) counted a total livestock population of 512.06 million. Livestock and fisheries have together registered an average annual growth rate six times greater than that in the crop sector between 2012-13 and 2016-17. Livestock, fishing, and aquaculture account for nearly 32% of the overall agricultural GDP and 5% of national GDP. Livestock and fish products together contribute over $99 billion to the total value of the agricultural output—nearly double the contribution of cereals and pulses together. While the share of crops in the value of agricultural output has been declining, that of livestock and fish products is on a steadily upward trend.

However, the policy focus and incentive structure in agriculture is highly skewed in favor of crop cultivation. Agricultural policies were bent towards food grain cultivation to overcome the food shortage crisis in the mid-1960s. However, long after attaining self-sufficiency and even surplus production, agricultural policies have remained undesirably crop-centric. Until recently, packages of benefits, such as the Kisan Credit Cards (KCC), interest subsidies on farm loans, etc., targeted at the welfare of the farming community have remained confined to those cultivating crops. The KCC scheme was launched in 1998 and was extended to livestock and fish farmers only in 2018. Even the most recent Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) for providing annual income support of $85 is targeted at farmers engaged in cultivation of crops. The new ministry could work to extend these benefits to those engaged exclusively in the allied sectors. The definition of the “farmer” has to be reassessed, and the ministry can play a pivotal role in mainstreaming these allied or orphaned sub-sectors. It is expected that with the creation of the new ministry, both the departments under it will have significantly higher budget allocations for existing and new schemes/programs, as well as investments and the establishment of infrastructure in the value chain. Buffalo meat and inland/sea-fish exports— having a huge share in our agri-exports basket—are expected to get the required attention by the new ministry in coordination with the Ministry of Commerce.

There are, however, several remaining challenges—and this is why we call the move “potentially” welcome. Creation of a new ministry for livestock, dairying and fisheries runs the risk of further dissociating these from an integrally linked and mainstream activity of crop cultivation. The livestock production system is closely interwoven with the crop sector in India. Usually a single-window system is preferred for better coordination, policy synchronization and a general holistic approach. With the creation of a new ministry, the already subpar coordination between departments could get even worse. This also might encourage the fisheries department to lobby for a separate ministry of its own, especially with the growing emphasis on the Blue Revolution in India. How research organizations, think tanks, donors, and academia in general will align and coordinate their activities with other government and quasi-government organizations (such as the Indian Council of Agricultural Research), that are cross-cutting in their scope and agenda, is something that will have to be figured out in the coming times. We strongly feel that the current move should not lead to a similar bifurcation of the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) into separate agencies of agriculture and veterinary/fisheries streams. The research ecosystem should not be equated with the governance structure of implementing departments.

While many speculate that the move to create the new ministry has political undertones, if it can shift the blinkered focus of policymakers from crop cultivation to these emerging sectors, it will have served its purpose well. Institutions, once created, tend to persist. It is, therefore, hoped that the objective behind the creation of this new ministry has been well thought-through. Otherwise, it will just become another curious case of maximum government and minimum governance!

Anjani Kumar is a Senior Research Fellow and Smriti Verma is a Research Analyst with IFPRI’s South Asia Region (SAR) office in New Delhi; Arabinda K. Padhee is Country Director-India at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). This post first appeared in the Financial Express. Opinions are the authors’.