Adaptation and mitigation strategies for sustained livestock production under changing climatic scenario

Climate change is one of the serious environmental threats confronting the global society in respect of food security. Global warming has led to rise of the surface temperature about 0.7 degrees C since the early 20th century. Huge economic loss is likely to be expected without change in the management system of livestock farming. Therefore, the emphasis should be given to understand the mechanism of adapted livestock for their sustained production and performance during stressful conditions (heat, cold, drought, flood etc.) under tropical climate. Currently, India is losing nearly two per cent of the total milk production in cattle and buffaloes due to global warming. It has been estimated that about 85% places in India experience moderate to high heat stress during April to June. Slight increase in core body temperature have profound effects on tissue metabolism, electrolyte balance, neuro-endocrine functions etc, which in turn reduce fertility, growth, lactation and ability to work. Therefore, suitable strategies should be adopted in animal shelter, nutrition, breeding, reproduction and health care. Research commitments and selection of resilient breeds to climate change are mandatory without compromising production performance.