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The Rainfed Livestock Network (RLN), anchored by the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), is a consortium of organizations that works in the livestock and natural resource management (NRM) sectors, in order to highlight the importance of livestock in rainfed (arid and semi-arid) regions of rural India.

Despite the crucial role played bylivestock in sustaining low-income households in rainfed regions, livestock production and its associated aspects, particularly in the rainfed regional context, the sector remains peripheral to mainstream livestock policies and government investments.

The Rainfed Livestock Network seeks to amend government policies, programmes and institutions so that they will better address the needs of small-scale livestock keepers (include mixed crop-livestock farmers, pastoralists, and landless livestock keepers) in rainfed areas. Its overall goal is to bring about policy and programmatic changes in favour of improved and long-term sustainable livelihoods that are in harmony with local ecological conditions, i.e. conserve groundwater resources, minimize soil erosion and sustain biological diversity.

The Network envisions a vibrant Indian livestock sector, especially in the marginalized rainfed regions, which is the outcome of a holistic approach in policy-making involving socially, ecologically and economically sustainable initiatives that take into account the knowledge and contributions of India’s pastoral and small-holder livestock keepers and their indigenous breeds.

The partner organizations of the Network are specialists working in rainfed livestock systems.