Appendix - 11

Prototype on: Development of Value Chain for Meat & Meat Products in India

1.0              Background and Rationale

Livestock are being kept for the production of meat, milk and draught power. Some species of livestock are reared for the production of animal fibre. Manure is an important byproduct. Meat has a special place among livestock products because it is harvested as a “terminal produce” even from livestock that are reared for purposes other than meat. In the case of livestock reared for meat production, it is a “principal produce”. Thus, meat is a product of all livestock enterprises. The difference between the two types of meats is in its quality. The terminal produce meat is harvested from aged animals after completion of their productive and reproductive performances. This meat is tougher and it is popularly called as “spent animal meat” in the case of livestock and “culled bird meat”, in the case of poultry. When the meat is obtained as a principal produce, it is harvested from animals specifically reared for meat and slaughtered at specific weight/age. The meat from these animals is tender in quality. The approach for processing of tough and tender meats is quite different. Value addition through processing of meat into meat products increases the returns from animal agriculture to a great extent. Processed meat products provide tasty, convenience and designer foods to the meat consuming population with exceptional level of satiety

This Programme, under the aegis of NAIP, has been conceived and developed for understanding the present status of meat production and processing, augmenting the meat production & processing and improving the markets and marketing potential for meat and meat products in the country.

1.1.            Livestock Industry in India

The contribution of animal husbandry and dairying to the total gross domestic product (GDP) was 5.9 percent in 2000-2001. Of the total value of output of Rs. 5,61,717 crores from agriculture and allied sector, the value of output from livestock and fisheries sector accounted for 30.3 percent ie. Rs. 1,70,205 crores (Govt. of India, 2002). It is gratifying to note that while the percentage share of agriculture to total GDP is declining over the years, the share of livestock is growing. Livestock sector provides employment to 18 million people (1993-94) and nearly 70 percent of them represent women.

1.1.1.      Livestock Population

India is the richest country in the world in livestock wealth, both in numbers and germplasm. Table-1 shows the population of livestock and poultry in the world and India. It can be appreciated that India is the world leader in cattle, buffalo and goat population. It holds 5^th rank for sheep and poultry population and it is ranked 17^th in pigs. India has a large genetic diversity of livestock containing 26 breeds of cattle, 8 breeds of buffaloes, 40 breeds of sheep, 20 breeds of goats and 7 breeds of camels.

Table 1: Livestock Population – 2002 (in Million Nos.)

1.1.2.           Meat Production

The present production of beef, buffalo meat, sheep meat, goat meat, pig meat and poultry meat and the demand for these meats by the year 2010 and 2020 are given in Table 2. To meet the future demand, it is very imperative that the meat production Programmemes have to be substantially enhanced for all categories of meats, excepting beef. A general statement on future demand for meat can be made as: “a minimum of doubling the meat production level, over a period of 8 years from 2002 to 2010, is required to meet the increase in demand.”

Table-2: Production and future requirements (2010 & 2020) of meat in India (‘000 Tonnes)

* FAO 2002

Meat production systems in the country are very primitive. Semi-intensive and intensive systems are not very popular; therefore, the cost of meat production is also comparatively cheaper than the developed countries. Only in poultry, intensive production systems are practiced and, that too, in the advanced poultry production belts of the country. There is need for augmenting the quantity and quality of meat production Programme through scientific methods of organized livestock production by utilizing various locally available feed resources and by imported/improved/improving meat animal germplasm.

1.1.3.          Meat Consumption

The increase in per capita income and urbanization are fuelling the demand for meat and meat products. While the population is expected to double in Asia and Africa by the year 2020, the demand for meat and meat products is expected to triple. Per capita meat consumption in India is relatively low at less than 5 Kg/ year as compared to other developing countries such as Pakistan (13.7 Kg), China (38.6 Kg) and Brazil (58.6 Kg). Based on the minimum requirement of 20g animal protein per capita per day sourced from milk (10 g), meat (4 g), fish (4 g), and eggs (2 g), the estimated demand for meat is 7.7 million metric tonnes as against the present production of 4.6 million metric tonnes.

1.1.4.          Markets and Marketing Channels in Meat Sector

Livestock are transacted in more than 2000 upcountry livestock markets of the country. Meat stocks are eventually taken on foot or by truck to the terminal livestock markets, located in close proximity to the slaughterhouses. They are sold to meat traders and get slaughtered by them. Raw hides and skins are the most valuable slaughter byproducts and are marketed at slaughterhouses level to the hides & skins merchants. They preserve these hides and skins by salting and dispose the materials to the tanneries at nearby wholesale hides & skins markets. Meat marketing is done from retail stalls of respective species of meat. Edible oils are also usually marketed in the retail meat stalls. About 1.7% of total meat is processed into meat products and sold through retail network comprising company outlets, supermarkets and high-end grocery shops located in big cities and metropolitan towns.

1.1.5.      Slaughter Facilities

Adequate slaughter facilities are not available to produce meat under sanitary conditions. Slaughter takes place both in authorized (2702) and unauthorized places (more than 12000) (so called illegal slaughter) and effective meat inspection has not been feasible. Floor slaughter is practiced for large animals with poor hygiene. Overcrowded slaughter in unaesthetic premises is quite common. Slaughterhouses are regulated by the local bodies, which have been criticized for lack of interest for development. A good number of attempts to (a) relocate the existing slaughterhouses, (b) improve the existing slaughterhouses and (c) establish new abattoirs have met with resistance from the local residents, meat industry personnel and persons staunchly opposing animal slaughter and meat consumption. Increased demand for the meat is being met from the existing slaughterhouses and unauthorized slaughter, compromising hygiene and possible public health risks. At times, the sourcing of meat for export from the existing domestic slaughterhouses further complicates the situation. Hygiene in the retail meat shops is also not effectively regulated.

1.1.6        Meat Export Trade

Export of Indian meat, especially buffalo meat, to Gulf countries has proved to be a thriving business over the last several years. Now, the meat is also exported to Malaysia and Singapore. At present, more than 60 countries are importing meat from India. Many corporate firms have set up modern integrated meat complexes having state-of-the-art facilities for livestock holding, slaughter, carcass deboning, packing, chiller and frozen storages, byproducts processing, effluent treatment etc. Current figures for meat export trade are given in Table 3.

Table-3:     Export meat trade data for 2003-04

1.1.7        Current Status of Knowledge and Gaps

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nation is publishing data for every calendar year on livestock population of the member countries through “FAO Production Year Books”  and livestock products data through “FAO Trade Year Books”. The department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying of the Govt. of India undertakes livestock census biennially and the data is published. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) of the Ministry of Commerce is publishing “Export Statistics for Agro and Food Products” for every fiscal year. These are the accredited sources for statistics in livestock and livestock products. Meat industry survey research Programmes are being undertaken by the State Agricultural Universities and the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI). Very recently the NATP project on “Assessment of Harvest and Post-Harvest Losses in Meat Commodity” covering buffalo meat sector, sheep and goat meat sector, pig meat sector, meat consumers sector was completed by IVRI under NATP phase-I Programme. Similar project was undertaken by the Central Avian Research Institute (CARI) in respect of poultry meat and eggs. These research projects amount to just a tip of the iceberg, because comprehensive national level surveys have never been attempted in meat sector. Research on meat products development is being undertaken by select Veterinary Colleges, IVRI, CARI, Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Defense Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) and Food Technology Departments of various universities. However, the technology transfer Programme have remained so far ineffective due to lack of Institute-Industry interaction. Nonetheless the processed meat industry is growing faster, especially in poultry meat products sector, by the dynamic initiatives from the corporate bodies. Lot of promise is also being felt in the area of processing of pig meat by private sector and some individual family owned concerns.

A comprehensive and pragmatic meat industry for the whole nation covering all the regions is yet to be developed and it is a major gap. This lacuna is being adequately addressed to under the NAIP Programme.

2.0              Goals and Mission

The various goals and the ultimate mission of this NAIP Programme are mentioned below.

2.1.     Goals

The five major goals of this Programme are as under:

1.                  Augmenting the country’s meat production.

2.                  Improving the current status of meat production, handling and marketing.

3.                  Developing technologies for value addition to meat by processing into meat products.

4.                  Providing research & development and marketing support to the export meat trade.

5.                  Launching human resource development Programmes in teaching, research, training and extension activities of meat science and technology

2.2.     Mission

The overall mission of this NAIP Programme is to thoroughly revamp the Indian Meat Industry so as to erase the stigma of poor hygiene and elevate it to the global standards in production, processing and marketing of meat and meat products.

2.3              Scientific Contribution from the project

Besides the developmental Programme in terms of improvement in meat production & processing facilities and human resource development, this project is expected to generate highly useful scientific information, many of which will be of first-time reports. Some of such findings will emanate in the area of meat animal production practices, meat animal transport, model abattoirs, model meat processing plants, indigenous meat processing machinery, market support information for meat export etc.

2.4              Economic Importance of the Project

The findings of the project will contribute to the economic goal of doubling the meat production by 2010. It will also help in providing clean meat and nutritious, tasty & novel meat products to the meat eating population of the country. It will ensure substantially higher returns in the meat industry which will have a direct impact on the primary producers of meat animals, who will get better prices for their livestock.

3.0              Development Objective

This Programme under NAIP has been developed with the primary objective of developing the Indian Meat Industry on a fast track and to bring it at par with the standards of developed nations.

4.0              Programme Partners

The partners for implementation of this Programme are listed below:

1.                  IVRI, Izatnagar

2.                  CARI, Izatnagar

3.                  NRC (Meat), Hyderabad

4.                  NRC (Pigs)

5.                  PDP, Hyderabad

6.                    Veterinary Colleges - Chennai, Mannuthy, Pondicherry, Namakkal, Tirupati, Patna, Jammu, Ludhiana, Kolkata and Hisar.

7.                    Indian Institute of Packaging, Mumbai

8.                    National Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi

9.                    Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai

10.                 CIRG, Makhdoom

11.                 CSWRI, Avikanagar

12.                 Corporate Bodies- Hind Agro Industries, Allana Sons and Al-Kabeer

13.                 IIT (to be identified)

14.                 NIN, Hyderabad

15.                 BAIF, Pune

16.                 NBAGR, Karnal

5.0              Action Plan

The various components of the Programme (ie: sub-projects) with a brief description of the work proposed to be done under each component, partners identified for undertaking the components, the approximate fund requirements and the time-target for completion of the components have been detailed in a customised format appended herewith.

6.0              Capacity Building and HRD Plan

The action plan has provided adequate weightage for capacity building and substantial improvement of HRD in the meat sector.

7.0              Governance of the Project/ Consortium Plan

The project will be governed by the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnager under the leadership of the Director, IVRI in his capacity as Mission Director. He will be assisted by the Head, Livestock Products Technology Division in his capacity as Programme Director.

The consortium plan includes all the Programme Partners. The Programme Partners will identify and provide the names of the persons in their organizations, who will act as Cooperating Centres Principal Investigators (CCPIs). Regular meetings of the members of the consortium will be held to chalk out the method of implementation of the action plan.

8.0              IPR Management Plan

Intellectual property rights (IPRs), generated through the Programme, will be governed by the rules and regulations of IPR Cell of the ICAR, New Delhi and all the prescribed protocols will be strictly adhered to.

Bench Marking, Monitoring & Evaluation Plan

Since there has been no previous Programme of its kind in the country, no bench marking scale can be used for assessing the progress. However, the Programme ill set-up a Monitoring and Evaluation Cell at NAIP Headquarters comprising eminent scientists, academicians and bureaucrats who will guide, monitor and evaluate the progress for the betterment of the Programme implementation.

9.0              Knowledge Management, Information Sharing and Dissemination Plan

Online systems will be established between the Programme partners, IVRI and NAIP Headquarters for knowledge management, information sharing and dissemination of action plan. Such online systems are the main channels of communication among the consortium members and these are expected to significantly contribute in achieving the milestones.

10.0          Financial Management and Procurement Plan

The finances allocated for this project will be spent following all the finance rules of the partner Institutes/departments and the laid down rules for funds utilization by NAIP.

11.0          Programme Budget

Action Plan