In 1961, the Department of Animal Husbandry (DoAH) was under the Ministry of Development (MoD). Based on the cadre system introduced by RCSC in the early 1980s, the Ministries and Departments were reorganized. As a result, the MoA was made responsible for forestry, agriculture, and animal husbandry. The DoAH were placed under the MoA in 1985 and was located near Trashichhodzong. In 1993, the Agricultural and Livestock Input Supplies and Farm Mechanization were combined together and merged with the DoAH, which was renamed the Crop & Livestock Service Division (CLSD). In 1999 further reorganization continued and CLSD was renamed as Department of Agriculture & Livestock Support Services (DALSS). In early 2003, DALSS was bifurcated as the Department of Livestock (DoL).
Livestock plays an integral role in the lives of Bhutanese farmers. Large areas of the country can only be used for livestock production, while in other parts, livestock is an integral component of a deeply rooted farming system. In order to achieve the overall national objective of higher living standards for the Bhutanese population, rapid gains and high productivity is essential. This can be accelerated with good organization structure whose institutions clearly define and focuses on important aspects of efficient productivity under varied conditions.
Ever since the planned development started, Bhutan was critically short of skilled manpower. Even now Bhutan lacks skilled manpower in terms of quality and quantity. Through the development phase, there has been the replacement of expatriates who were assisting in many development roles, yet Bhutan has never reached a situation whereby there are enough for every need. Therefore, this exercise mainly focused on the approach toward meeting development needs based on the available capacity of established institutions. Accordingly institutional setup for the department is re-organized with priority towards achieving national objectives by boosting outputs from established institutions to achieve realistic results from the field with efficient delivery of services.
A resilient and innovative livestock sector strengthening stewardship of resources for enhanced livelihoods and availability of quality animal source protein foods to achieve national food and nutrition security for a happy and healthy society.
By 2040, livestock productivity is enhanced, inputs are privatized, smart and precision livestock farming is practiced, high value niche livestock products are developed with increasing youth engagement in the livestock sector.
