Planning for Best Livestock Keeper's Award Function

What is the Planning for Best Livestock Keeper's Award Function scheme?

Planning for Best Livestock Keeper's Award Function is a recognition scheme of the Directorate of Animal Husbandry, which sits under the Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Co-operation Department of the Government of Gujarat. The scheme provides for organising official award functions at which outstanding livestock keepers and animal husbandry workers are honoured, at three levels; taluka, district and state.

The most important thing to understand about this scheme is what it is not. It is not a subsidy, not a loan and not an income-support transfer. There is no open application form on which a livestock keeper claims a personal benefit. The scheme's budget line covers the planning and conduct of the award functions themselves and the awards given at them, and beneficiaries reach it through nomination by the animal husbandry establishment. Readers who arrive here expecting a cattle-purchase subsidy are looking for a different Directorate of Animal Husbandry scheme, and the schemes list at doah.gujarat.gov.in is the place to find it.

Gujarat has a specific reason for running an award programme of this kind. Animal husbandry is not a marginal activity in the state, it is the backbone of the Amul co-operative structure and of household income across Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Mehsana, Kutch and Saurashtra. Practices that raise yield, improve animal health or sustain indigenous breeds such as Gir, Kankrej and Jaffarabadi spread far more effectively when a respected keeper in the same taluka is publicly recognised for them than when they are printed in an advisory. The award function is, in effect, an extension tool.

The scheme is often referred to locally by its Gujarati description as the shreshth pashupalak award, and the same phrase is used in announcements of the district and state functions.

Who is eligible for the Best Livestock Keeper's award?

You can be considered if:

• You are a resident of Gujarat.
• You are an active livestock keeper: dairy cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, poultry or other livestock, or an animal husbandry worker.
• You have a demonstrable record of outstanding practice, which in most cases means documented production, animal health management, breed conservation or the adoption of improved husbandry methods.
• You have not been honoured at the same level within the preceding three years, since a recipient is normally recognised once in three years.

You are not eligible if:

• You do not keep livestock. The award recognises actual husbandry practice.
• You are a resident of another state.
• You are seeking a cash subsidy, a loan or an animal-purchase grant rather than recognition. Those are separate Directorate of Animal Husbandry schemes, and this one cannot be used as a substitute.
• You were honoured at the same level within the last three years.

How does the award work at each level?

The scheme operates at three tiers, and they are not independent contests but a progression of visibility.

• Taluka level — the widest tier, where keepers are recognised within their own block. This is where most recipients enter the system, and where the taluka veterinary officer's knowledge of local herds does the selection work.
• District level. A smaller set drawn from across the district's talukas, usually conducted around a district animal husbandry event.
• State level. The smallest and most prestigious tier, at which recipients from across Gujarat are honoured at a state function.

The award carries public recognition, a place at the official function, and an opportunity to exchange husbandry practice with peers and with the department's veterinary and extension staff. Where a cash component accompanies the award, it is notified for that function rather than fixed as a standing rate, which is why a bank passbook appears on the document list.

How to be considered for the Best Livestock Keeper's award

Because this is a nomination scheme rather than an open-application scheme, the practical route runs through the animal husbandry establishment in your area.

1. Contact your taluka veterinary officer or the nearest veterinary dispensary. This officer is the person whose recommendation carries weight at the taluka tier, and being an unknown quantity to them is the single biggest obstacle.
2. Document your husbandry record. Milk pouring records from your village dairy co-operative or district milk union, vaccination and deworming records, artificial insemination records and breed registration papers are the evidence that distinguishes a nomination from an assertion.
3. Approach your village dairy co-operative society. Co-operative societies and district milk unions are closely involved in identifying strong performers and are a normal channel through which names reach the department.
4. Keep the personal document set ready, Aadhaar, Gujarat residence proof, evidence of livestock ownership and a bank passbook, so that a nomination is not held up on paperwork once your name is put forward.
5. Ask the District Deputy Director of Animal Husbandry for the current cycle's nomination timeline and the award amounts notified for it. Contact details for district offices are published in the district-wise directory on doah.gujarat.gov.in.

How do I check the status of a nomination?

There is no public online status tracker for this scheme, because there is no public online application to track. Follow up in person or by phone with the taluka veterinary officer who forwarded your name, and then with the District Deputy Director of Animal Husbandry, who consolidates the district's list. Announcements of the award functions and their recipients are made through the Directorate of Animal Husbandry and the district administration rather than through individual intimation portals.

Why a nomination does not go through

• No documented record. A keeper with a strong reputation but no pouring or health records is hard to nominate against a keeper with both. Start recording now if you have not.
• Honoured within the last three years. The three-year gap is the scheme's own rule and is not waived on request.
• Limited slots. Each tier honours a small number of keepers, so a strong nomination can simply lose out in a given year. Re-nomination in a later cycle is normal and is not a mark against the applicant.
• Confusion with a subsidy scheme. A request framed as an application for financial assistance is redirected to the relevant subsidy scheme rather than treated as a nomination.

Where do I get help?

• Directorate of Animal Husbandry, Gujarat: doah.gujarat.gov.in, which publishes the schemes list and a district-wise contact directory.
• Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Co-operation Department: agri.gujarat.gov.in, which lists the contact details of departmental officers.
• District Deputy Director of Animal Husbandry for your district, the practical point of contact for nomination timelines and award details.
• Taluka veterinary officer or nearest veterinary dispensary, for the first-level recommendation.

A note on verification. The Directorate of Animal Husbandry does not publish a standing award amount or a fixed annual nomination date for this scheme; both are set per function. Any specific rupee figure or date quoted for this award on a non-government website should be treated as unverified until confirmed with your district animal husbandry office.