Bring out the importance of animal husbandary, fisheries and horticulture as a source of diversification.

Animal Husbandary : In India, livestock sector provides alternate livelihood options to over 70 million small and marginal farmers including landless labourers. India has about 287 million cattle, including 90 million buffaloes. The performance of the Indian Dairy Sector over the last three decades has been quite impressive. Because of 'Operation Flood' from 1966 onwards, the production of milk has increased by more than four times 'Operation Flood' is a system whereby all the farmers pool their milk produce according to different grading and the same is processed and marketed to urban centres through cooperatives. In this system the farmers are assured of a fair price and income from the supply of milk to urban markets. Gujarat state can be cited as an example of success story in the efficient implementation of milk cooperatives. Meat, eggs, wool and other by products are also emerging as important productive sectors for diversificaiton.

Fisheries : In India, after progressive increase in budgetary allocations and introduction of new technologies in fisheries and aquaculture, the development of fisheires has come a long way. Presently fish production from inland sources contribute about 49% of the total fish production and the balance 51% comes from the marine sector, accounting (total fish production) 1.4% of total GDP for Kerala, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are the major producers of marine products. The overall socio-economic status of fishermen is comparatively lower than that of other back ward sections of our economy. Under employment, low per capita earnings, absence of mobility of labour to other sectors and a high rate of illiteracy and indebtedness are some of the major problems associated with fishermen. There is a need to increase credit facilities, cooperatives and SHGs for fishermen to meet the working capital requirements for marketing.

3. Horticulture : Our country India has a varying climate and soil conditions. As the consequence of this, we have a large number of horticultural crops like fruits, vegetables, tuber crops, flowers, medicinal and aromatic plants, spices and plantation crops. These crops play an important role in providing food and nutrition besides giving employment opportunities. The period after 1991 is known as 'Golden Revolution' in the field of horticulture as excellent growth has taken place in the field of horticulture. India has emerged as a world leader in producing a variety of fruits and spices and second largest producer of fruits and vegetables. Economic conditions of many farmers employed in horticulture has improved and it has become a means of improving livelihood for many unpriviledged classes too. Flower harvesting, nursery maintenance, hybrid seed production and tissue culture propagation of fruits and flowers are highly remunerative employment options for women in rural areas. This sector provides employment to around 19% of the total labour force in India.