In rainfed areas, draught animals remain a quiet but vital source of farm power, sustaining smallholder livelihoods, indigenous cattle diversity, and climate-resilient agriculture even as mechanisation expands
Imagine the first monsoon showers reaching the fields of dryland farmers. After months of waiting, the moment demands quick decisions. Farmers have spent the lean months since the last harvest preparing for the next season—saving seeds, repairing tools and gathering inputs. But when the rains finally arrive, the most urgent task is preparing the soil. In rainfed regions, where irrigation is scarce, timing is critical. Fields must be ploughed quickly while the soil still holds moisture. Missing this short window can affect the entire cropping season.
In many parts of India, tractors have come to symbolise agricultural modernisation. They work well on large, level fields and for farmers who can afford timely access to machinery. But for smallholders cultivating fragmented and undulating plots, tractors are not always practical. Hiring one requires ready cash and depends on availability at precisely the right moment. During peak sowing periods, even a delay of a few days can mean losing precious soil moisture.
For this reason, many farmers across rainfed regions continue to rely on draught animals.
Various estimates suggest that nearly 65 per cent of India’s cultivated land, about 85 million hectares, still depends partly on animal power for agricultural operations. For small farmers, owning a pair of bullocks provides something tractors often cannot: reliability and control over timing. Animals are available the moment the rains arrive, allowing farmers to begin work immediately without arranging cash or waiting for machinery.
Draught animals also reduce the cost of cultivation. Tractor hiring charges can range between Rs 700 and Rs 1,200 per hour, making repeated operations expensive for small farms. In contrast, bullocks depend largely on locally available resources such as crop residues and grazing from village commons. They are familiar to farming households, including women farmers and tribal communities who may have limited access to mechanised services.
In this way, draught animals remain more than a source of farm power. They are embedded within a locally rooted system that supports livelihoods, farming decisions and resilience in rain-dependent landscapes.
Yet their role is rarely acknowledged in policy discussions about the future of agricultural energy. Even as debates around farm mechanisation and renewable energy gather momentum, the quiet presence of draught animals remains largely invisible. In thousands of villages, however, they continue to plough fields, transport harvests and support farming households through uncertain seasons.
India hosts one of the world’s largest populations of draught animals, with an estimated 70-73 million animals, most of them bullocks supporting smallholder agriculture. The country has 55 recognised indigenous cattle breeds registered with the ICAR-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources. Of these, roughly 30-35 breeds are traditionally classified as draught or draught-type animals.
These breeds evolved across diverse agroecological zones, shaped by generations of selective breeding by farming communities. Animals were valued for traits such as endurance, strength and adaptability to local climates and terrain.
For instance, Hallikar and Amrit Mahal cattle from the Deccan plateau are known for their speed and stamina in drylands. Kangayam cattle and Khillar cattle are adapted to semi-arid farming systems. In contrast, Dangi cattle are suited to regions with heavy rainfall and wet soils.
Similarly, Poda Thurpu cattle evolved in the Nallamala Hills and are known for their agility across hilly terrain. In eastern India’s Odisha state, indigenous breeds such as Binjharpuri cattle, Khariar cattle, Motu cattle and Ghumusari cattle are well adapted to hot climates, hilly landscapes and rainfed farming systems.
This diversity reflects how livestock systems co-evolved with local ecology, farming practices and livelihood needs.
Beyond their economic role, draught animals occupy a deep cultural space in rural India. Farmers often regard them as companions in cultivation, a relationship visible in seasonal rituals that honour cattle for their role in sustaining farming households.
Festivals such as Pola, Mattu Pongal, Goru Bihu and Balada Yatra celebrate cattle through decoration and worship. These events mark important points in the agricultural calendar and reaffirm the bond between livestock, land and farming communities.
Draught animals are also woven into rural economies. Weekly markets and cattle fairs remain important spaces where farmers exchange animals, share breeding knowledge and maintain indigenous livestock lineages. Ritual uses of dung and ghee in homes, temples and farms further illustrate how deeply cattle are embedded in everyday life.
Together, these relationships form a biocultural heritage system where livestock diversity, farming practices and cultural traditions evolve together. In many landscapes, it is this cultural connection that quietly sustains the continued presence of draught animals in agriculture.
The role of draught animals is also evolving alongside changing farming practices.
In rainfed regions, farmers are experimenting with improved animal-drawn tools that increase efficiency without abandoning traditional systems. In tribal areas of Jharkhand, for example, bullocks remain central to agriculture. In villages such as Gurgaon in East Singhbhum district, most households own at least one pair of bullocks, using them for nearly 100 days each year across both kharif and rabi seasons.
While the traditional wooden plough remains common, farmers have shown increasing interest in improved implements such as seed drills, cultivators and bed makers that can perform multiple operations more efficiently. These tools demonstrate how animal power can adapt to contemporary cropping systems while remaining accessible to smallholders.
Similar patterns are visible in parts of Gujarat, where tractors and bullocks often coexist within the same farming systems. Farmers frequently use tractors for primary tillage, while bullocks handle tasks such as sowing, weeding and inter-cultivation. In regions like Kachchh and Saurashtra, bullock-drawn weeders and cultivators continue to be widely used, particularly on smaller plots where mechanised operations may be less practical.
Supporting these systems is a network of rural enterprises. Local fabricators produce a variety of bullock-drawn implements suited to regional crops and soils, while traders and breeders maintain active markets for draught animals. Small workshops in some areas manufacture hundreds of such tools each year, supplying farmers across nearby districts.
Yet studies suggest that many improved animal-powered technologies developed by research institutions remain largely unknown to farmers and local fabricators. Awareness of these innovations in rainfed regions remains extremely low, highlighting a persistent gap between research and field adoption.
Bridging this gap through stronger extension services, local manufacturing and farmer-led experimentation could significantly enhance the productivity of draught animal systems.
Draught animals already form part of the energy base of rainfed agriculture, drawing on locally available biomass rather than fossil fuels. With appropriate tools, institutional support and stronger value chains, animal power could evolve into a more efficient and resilient form of farm energy.
At a time when agriculture faces rising fuel costs, climate uncertainty and the need for more inclusive transitions, the future of farm power in India may lie not in replacing older systems entirely, but in renewing and adapting them.
Kavya Chinda works as a Program Officer-Pastoralism for Watershed Support Services and Activities Network (WASSAN), Hyderabad
Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth