Prospects of dairy sheep farming in India: An overview

Basic idea of this paper is to review present status of dairy farming in sheep and explore the possibility for its establishment in the country to ensure more remuneration to farmers and quality milk products supply to consumers. Dairy sheep breeds are predominately found in Middle East and Mediterranean countries. The contribution of sheep milk to total milk production in the world is negligible (only 1.32%) but it is important in some of the countries like Greece, Syria, Jordon, Iraq, Somalia where sheep milk contributes 17–36% of total milk production. Awassi is a well-known dairy breed belonging to fat-tailed group and widely found in Middle East (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Israel) countries. Awassi has proliferated, for breeding purposes, into at least 30 countries in all continents. Other dairy sheep breeds like Assaf (Israel), East Friesian (Germany), Lacaune (France), Sarda (Sardinia), Chios (Greece), Manchega (Spain), etc. are reared under intensive system for milk production. More than 95% of sheep milk is converted into cheese. Ewes ’milk is rich in proteins, minerals and lipids. Sheep milk is a medical necessity as an alternative to cow milk for many people and especially for infants. Bioactive peptides of sheep milk proteins have specific biological activities, such as antihypertensive, antimicrobial, opioid, antioxidant, immunomodulatory or mineral binding. These protein fragments are formed from the precursor inactive protein during gastrointestinal digestion and/or during food processing. Dairy sheep farming is more profitable and provides 2.2 times more net income per flock and per ewe over nondairy sheep farming.