Livelihood to Nutrition: Role of Goat and Poultry in Government Malnutrition Programs

Malnutrition continues to affect millions of children and women in India, despite decades of targeted interventions. While flagship programs like POSHAN Abhiyaan, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), and Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) aim to address food insecurity and undernutrition, their success often hinges on locally available, culturally acceptable, and nutritionally rich food sources.

In this context, small livestock — particularly goats and backyard poultry — offer a dual advantage: they support rural livelihoods and directly enhance household nutrition. This article examines how integrating goat and poultry rearing into government nutrition strategies can strengthen the impact of these programs from the grassroots level.

Why Goat and Poultry Matter for Nutrition

Goat-based Benefits:

• Goat milk is rich in protein, calcium, and Vitamin A, and is easier to digest than cow and buffalo milk.

• Goat meat (chevon) is a valuable source of iron and lean protein, essential to combat anemia and undernutrition.

Poultry-based Benefits:

• Eggs are one of the most affordable sources of complete protein, especially for growing children and pregnant women.

• Desi hens can be reared with minimal inputs, providing both eggs and meat in remote areas.

Together, these small livestock play a critical role in improving dietary diversity and filling protein and micronutrient gaps, especially in rural, tribal, and low-income populations.

Livelihood and Nutritional Linkages: Government programs focused on livelihoods — such as DAY-NRLM (National Rural Livelihood Mission) and MKSP (Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana) — promote goat and poultry rearing as a means of income generation. However, when these initiatives are aligned with nutrition programs, they create synergistic benefits:

• Women-led livestock enterprises empower mothers to make nutrition-sensitive choices.

• Surplus production (milk, meat, eggs) improves household food security and income.

• Direct consumption of livestock products leads to measurable improvements in child nutrition and anemia reduction.

Programmatic Integration: Emerging Models: Several state-level and pilot models demonstrate successful convergence:

• Odisha’s Mo-Chatu Scheme links goat milk to child care canters in tribal districts.

• Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have promoted community poultry units in nutrition hotspots.

• Development Org. like The Goat Trust and few reputed org have piloted Livestock-for-Nutrition models where community-based livestock keepers supply eggs and milk to Anganwadi centres.

Such models show that when livelihood assets are directly tied to nutritional outcomes, the impact is faster and more sustainable.

Policy Recommendations for Scaling Impact: To realize the full potential of small livestock in national nutrition missions, the following strategies are essential:

• Mainstream livestock into POSHAN Abhiyaan convergence framework at district/block levels.

• Develop local procurement guidelines for goat milk and eggs in ICDS and MDMS.

• Build capacities of Pashu Sakhis and SHG women on livestock-based nutrition education.

• Promote climate-resilient and breed-specific models suited to local agro-ecologies.

• Ensure convergence of Animal Husbandry, Women & Child Development and Rural Livelihood departments.

Goat and poultry rearing are more than just livelihood activities — they are potent tools for grassroots nutrition transformation. By formally integrating small livestock into government malnutrition programs, India has the opportunity to deliver homegrown, sustainable and culturally relevant nutrition solutions to its most vulnerable populations.

From livelihood to nutrition, the journey of goats and hens can become the cornerstone of a healthier, more self-reliant rural India.

Empowering Communities: Children enjoy nutritious benefits from goat milk and poultry eggs as part of government initiatives to tackle malnutrition.