Boost Your Business: The National Livestock Mission (NLM) in India
Are you an entrepreneur or businessperson looking for new investment opportunities, especially in the livestock sector?
The Government of India has a significant initiative called the National Livestock Mission (NLM) that offers substantial support and incentives, particularly for businesses involved in animal feed and fodder. This mission is designed to help you thrive while also boosting India’s vital livestock industry.
What is the National Livestock Mission (NLM)?
The NLM is a centrally sponsored scheme launched by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India. Its main goal is to promote sustainable growth in livestock farming by encouraging private participation and modernizing the infrastructure. The scheme has been running successfully since the financial year 2014-15.
Why is NLM Important?
India has one of the largest and fastest-growing livestock populations globally. With rising incomes and changing lifestyles, especially in urban areas, there’s a rapidly increasing demand for meat, eggs, milk, and other animal products. To meet this demand, a steady supply of high-quality animal feed and fodder is crucial.
However, the country faces several challenges in feed and fodder production:
• Limited Land: Farmers often prioritize food crops on fertile land, leaving less land for fodder. NLM offers incentives to produce fodder from non-forest wasteland.
•Seasonal Availability: Green fodder is abundant during monsoon but scarce in dry seasons due to a lack of preservation and storage. NLM encourages investment in processing and storage units.
•Nutritional Value: Farmers may not always know how to provide proper nutrition. NLM supports Total Mixed Ration (TMR) units to address this
•Seed Availability: High-yield seeds are often unavailable locally, impacting fodder quality. NLM encourages investment in seed processing and grading units.
NLM aims to overcome these challenges by transforming traditional fodder-growing into a structured, scalable commercial activity, creating new income sources and ensuring a consistent supply of quality feed and seeds.
Business Opportunities Under NLM
The NLM scheme offers opportunities for entrepreneurs to set up various units, receiving financial assistance and capital subsidies:
•Hay Unit:
What it is: Dried green fodder (like grasses) stored to feed animals when fresh fodder isn’t available
◦Process: Grass is chopped, dried to 15-20% moisture, compressed into bales, and stored.
◦Benefit: Can be stored for 12-24 months and is good for selling to non-fodder states.
•Silage Unit:
◦What it is: Fermented green fodder (e.g., maize, sorghum) stored in airtight conditions.
◦Process: Fresh fodder is chopped, excess moisture is removed (ideal 70%), then compacted and sealed in pits or bags to ferment for 2-4 weeks.
◦Benefit: Moist, nutrient-rich, lasts 5-6 months, and valuable for local fodder sales.
•Total Mixed Ration (TMR) Unit:
◦What it is: A balanced blend of all feed ingredients (dry fodder, silage, grains, proteins, minerals).
◦Process: Nutrition requirements are assessed, ingredients are selected (hay, silage, grains, minerals, vitamins), green fodder is chopped, then thoroughly mixed in a TMR mixer for uniform nutritional value in every bite.
◦Benefit: Improves milk and meat production by ensuring animals get all necessary nutrients.
•Fodder Block:
◦What it is: Compressed blocks of dry fodder, grains, and minerals.
◦Process: Crop residues, dry/green fodder, and concentrate ingredients are finely chopped, mixed, adjusted for moisture (12-15%), and compressed into dense blocks (5-10 kg).
◦Benefit: Compact, easy to store, and useful for transporting feed to remote areas.
•Fodder Storage:
◦What it is: Facilities and methods to protect hay, silage, and other feeds from spoilage.
◦Process: Dry fodder is sun-dried to below 15% moisture, then baled or stacked in well-ventilated sheds. Green fodder is converted to silage or hay.
◦Benefit: Ensures year-round supply of quality fodder and reduces wastage.
•Seed Processing and Grading Infrastructure:
◦What it is: Cleaning and preparing seeds after harvesting to remove impurities, followed by sorting based on quality standards (size, weight, color, purity, germination).
◦Process: Raw seeds are cleaned, graded, treated (with fungicides/insecticides), dried to 8-10% moisture, packed, and stored in controlled environments.
◦Benefit: Ensures only high-quality, certified seeds are distributed to farmers, leading to better fodder crop production.
Financial Support & Incentives
The NLM scheme offers significant financial assistance for eligible businesses:
•Capital Subsidy:
◦You can avail a 50% capital subsidy on the eligible total project cost.
◦The maximum subsidy amount is ₹50 lakhs.
◦For example, if your eligible project cost is ₹80 lakhs, you can receive ₹40 lakhs in subsidy (50% of ₹80 lakhs). If your project is ₹120 lakhs, you would receive the maximum of ₹50 lakhs.
◦The subsidy is a front-end subsidy, meaning you must get approval before starting construction or procurement. Projects started without prior approval are not eligible.
◦The subsidy is released in two equal installments.
◦Important: Land cost, working capital, purchase of personal cars, leasing/hire of land, and office accommodation are not eligible for subsidy. Only specific components of capital investment are subsidized.
•Interest Subsidy under AHIDF:
◦You may also be eligible for an interest subsidy of 3% per annum for 8 years under the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF).
◦Loans can be sanctioned for the full project cost, and the subsidy amount received will then be adjusted from the term loan.
◦You can even avail a guarantee-free term loan up to ₹5 crores under the CGTMSE scheme.
Who is Eligible?
A wide range of individuals and organizations can benefit from this scheme:
•Private Entrepreneurs (Proprietorship, Partnership, Private or Public Companies)
•Farmer Producer Companies (FPOs)
•Self Help Groups (SHG)
•Joint Liability Groups (JLG)
•Section 8 Companies (non-profit organizations)
•Dairy Cooperatives Societies
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