TIRUPATI: There is good news for farmers. They can now use Kisan Credit Cards for animal husbandry activity, it means they can buy cattle, dairy, poultry and other things, Animal Husbandry Commissioner Suresh S Honnappagol said here on Friday. Speaking to Express, Honnappagol said, “The Central Government has taken this initiative among many other reforms to double farmers’ income in the country. The initiative will certainly yield good results.”
The Department of Animal Husbandry, ICAR and GoI, are working together to increase the component through budgetary allotment for financial assistance through Kisan Credit Cards in the country. The Union Government has also decided to create Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund with `8,000 crore and for Dairy Rs10,000 crore and the Fisheries Infrastructure Development Fund is exclusively meant to take up cold chain storage, marketing, pre-harvesting and pro-harvesting and package activity. India has stood first in milk production in the world and its consumption is 375 grams per head against the ICAR recommendations of a maximum of 300 grams.
“There is a disparity that some of the regions, cities and States are consuming low quantity of milk, while some others high quantity and quality, and the Central Government is trying to bring uniform availability of milk to promote consumption,” he said.“Milk process through organised sector is only 36 to 38 per cent and it has to be increased to 58 per cent for the growth of dairy sector,” he said. All the States will be instructed to announce their State breeding activity on the lines of Punjab and an Act in this regard is on the anvil. Currently, there are 41 indigenous cattle breeds in the country.
He also said that there is no halt to cross breeding programme. “The Union Government had selected top 10 germination centres among 51 in the country on trial basis from October 2 to 7 last year and this year too artificial insemination attempts with selected cattle breeds will be conducted,” he said.The Animal Husbandry Commissioner announced that the Centre had selected Chinthala Divi in Andhra Pradesh and another centre in Madhya Pradesh to conduct systematic breeding activity for the country’s needs.
“We have also identified 88 million animal population and will update data which can be a reference data. All South India, including Maharashtra livestock evaluation has been completed and data reconciliation will be completed by March 10 and from April, livestock census in North India and North Eastern States will be taken up and it will be completed by January 2019,” he said. Honnappagol stated that they will further improve veterinary services, and concentrate on all diseases and hope to minimise the animal mortality rate.