Livestock rearing is common and an integral component of state agriculture supporting livelihood of more than two-thirds of the rural population. Animals provide nutrient-rich food products, draught power, dung as organic manure and domestic fuel, hides & skin, and are a regular source of cash income for rural households. They are a natural capital, which can be easily reproduced to act as a living bank with offspring as interest, and an insurance against income shocks of crop failure and natural calamities.

Uttar Pradesh is endowed with large livestock populations in all districts across the state. Livestock population Cattle-190.20 lakh, Buffaloes-330.17 lakh Sheep- 9.85 lakh Goats-144.80 lakh, Pigs 4.09 lakh, Poultry 125.25 lakh as per 2019 Census. Livestock is germane to farming systems in Uttar Pradesh; the most preponderant farming system is mixed crop-livestock-farming. Over 85 per cent of all economic species of livestock and desi poultry are owned by the small holder group (marginal and small farmers along with the landless). The marginal farmers constitute the core livestock production sector in the state. The livestock sector is extremely livelihood intensive with over 70 per cent of all rural households owning livestock of some species or other, often a mix of several and livestock provides more than half of the total household income for marginal farmers and the landless who own livestock.