KOCHI: The animal husbandry department has decided to geo-tag around 10 lakh cattle and poultry farms in Kerala for disease and asset mapping.Animal Husbandry Director N N Sasi said the move is intended to create a digital database using the Geographical Information System (GIS). Once the digital repository is formed, the government can easily track details, including the medical history of the cattle and birds and vaccination details, to provide timely medical help in cases of emergency. Further, the data is likely to be used for drawing up various programmes for the betterment of the animal husbandry sector.
According to Balachandran, IT officer with the department, moves are also afoot to set up a call centre to connect with the farmers. Livestock inspectors and vets have been collecting the details of livestock reared by the farmers and their varieties.The digital repository will also have the photos of the cattle or birds, location of the house and farm and the information of veterinary hospitals nearby.
Officers will be able to easily connect and guide the farmers and ensure the welfare programmes chalked out for the sector reach the needy.The department has already distributed 1,240 tablets for the field officers to fast-track the work and 2,500 more tables will be made available soon to complete the exercise before the next national-level Livestock Census, which will be undertaken this year.Kerala has around 13 lakh bovines and the 19th Livestock Census in 2012 put the total livestock population at 27.35 lakh.