Shillong: Expressing concern over low milk and egg production in the Northeastern region, Union Animal Husbandry Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' said efforts should be made to achieve self-sufficiency.
On Thursday, while addressing a conclave in Shillong where he unveiled projects worth crores of rupees for the development of the livestock sector, Rajiv Ranjan Singh said the Centre was planning to provide financial aid of Rs 250 crore to expand the dairy infrastructure in the region. He said the geographic and climatic conditions of the region were posing unique challenges in the sector, especially piggery, poultry and fodder. He expressed concern over the low per capita average of milk and egg in the region compared to the national average, maintaining that necessary steps should be taken to achieve self-sufficiency.
Rajiv Ranjan Singh urged the state governments in the region to create a single-window system to facilitate investment by private players in the sector. "The private industry has to be looped in for creating suitable infrastructure and technological interventions with support from both central and state governments," he said.
The minister pitched for a cluster-based approach and public-private partnerships to transform the region into an export hub."The department plans to financially aid a sum of Rs. 250 crore to expand dairy infrastructure, increase milk procurement capacity from 1.5 lakh litres per day to 3.5 lakh litres per day, and onboard 70,000 new farmers into the cooperative network," he said.
Noting the contribution of piggery to the regional economy, Singh said there are 42.4 lakh pigs in the Northeast, which was 46.42 per cent of India's total and is valued at about Rs 5,000 crore. At the conclave, investment intents of Rs 700 crore were proposed by various private sector entities, an official statement said.
The IB Group intends to invest about Rs 200 crore in the poultry and feed sector, while the Karnataka Poultry Federation wants to invest Rs 250 crore in the region, it said.
Moreover, the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) indicated that they would distribute egg carts to generate employment and promote egg consumption in the eight states in the northeastern region.
At the programme, Singh unveiled 15 entrepreneurship development projects under the National Livestock Mission (NLM), with a total value of Rs 10.93 crore, and four Fodder Farmer Producer Organisations. He announced a Regional Semen Production Lab and Goat Semen Bank in Khanapara, backed by an investment of Rs 3.37 crore.
Rajiv Ranjan Singh said the NDDB would initiate a baseline village survey to facilitate the formation of multipurpose dairy cooperative societies in Arunachal Pradesh, focusing on Namsai, Lohit, and Lower Dibang Valley districts.
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It was also announced that NDDB would work alongside Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura, among other states, to enhance the establishment of dairy cooperatives.
The minister also inaugurated the Intensive Cattle Development Project in Khliehtyrshi and the Multiplier Pig Farm in Kyrdemkulai, both in Meghalaya.
He said that under the National Programme for Dairy Development and Infrastructure Support, 29 projects have been approved by the government with a total investment of Rs 240 crore, covering 53 districts of the Northeast.
Union MoS for Animal Husbandry George Kurian, Mizoram minister C Lalsawivunga, Tripura minister Sudhanshu Das, and Meghalaya minister AL Hek were present at the programme.
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