Vol. 10, Special Issue 11, Part A (2025)

The livestock sector plays a significant role in India’s economy, contributing 4.2% to the Gross Domestic Product and 25.6% to the Agricultural GDP. Livestock serves as a vital source of income and nutrition for rural households, particularly for disadvantaged populations, and is considered a more egalitarian asset than land. Meeting the growing domestic and global demand for livestock products requires improving production efficiency and quality consciousness. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), particularly mobile applications, have emerged as important tools for delivering extension and advisory services (EAS) to farmers, enabling better decision-making in livestock management. Mobile apps allow farmers to access livestock information, conduct transactions, and store data for easy retrieval. During events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, these apps provide critical support for self-management of livestock. Various government, private, and NGO initiatives have developed mobile apps to disseminate livestock-related information, facilitate communication among stakeholders, and enhance agricultural service delivery. Despite their advantages, adoption of mobile apps faces several challenges, including the need for digital literacy, language diversity, internet connectivity issues, content translation quality, affordability, and limited availability of regionally tailored applications. Compared to other sectors like health, the number and diversity of agricultural apps in India remain limited. This study highlights the potential of mobile applications in improving knowledge transfer, decision-making, and livestock productivity while identifying key barriers that need to be addressed to maximize adoption. Understanding these opportunities and challenges is crucial for policymakers, developers, and extension professionals aiming to enhance the efficiency and impact of digital tools in the livestock sector.