Indigenous vaccine to help curb disease in cattle: PM Narendra Modi
September 13, 2022:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that scientists have developed an indigenous vaccine for lumpy skin disease (LSD), which has so far spread across 11 states. “Development of the indigenous vaccine for LSD and its quick spread across India, and efforts to control the movement of cattle from one state to another are the steps being taken to control LSD,” Modi said at the inaugural event of the World Dairy Congress, organised by the International Dairy Federation. Lumpi-ProVacInd — jointly developed by ICAR’s National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, Haryana and the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izzatnagar, Uttar Pradesh.
LSD has spread to 11 states including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, and has impacted around 60,000 cattle.Though the dairy industry — both cooperatives and private players — have stated that the disease seems to have no significant impact on milk production at present, there are concerns of future spread of the diseases.
Modi also stated that through universal vaccination of animals by 2025, India is aiming to eliminate foot and mouth diseases and Brucellosis by the end of this decade.
He also said that India is building the largest database of dairy animals through biometric identification of animals through tagging under the Pashu Adhar programme. Valued at more than Rs 8.5 trillion annually, the dairy sector is more than the combined value of wheat and rice production.
Stating that while the country’s milk production is increasing at around 6% annually against a global growth rate of 2%, Modi said that from 146 million tonne (mt) of milk production in 2014, it has increased to around 210 mt in 2021.
Modi also stated that in the milk value chain, there is no middleman in the entire process, and more than 70% of the money (consumer rupee) goes directly into the pockets of the farmers. “No other country has this ratio in the whole world,” he said.
The PM also noted that women represent around 70% of the workforce in the dairy sector. “The women are the real leaders of the dairy sector. Not only this, more than one third of the members of dairy cooperatives in India are women.”
More than 1,500 experts, farmers and processors of dairy products from 50 countries are participating in the global dairy event being held in Greater Noida during September 12-15. The event is being held in India after 48 years. India hosted the international dairy congress in 1974.
India is the biggest milk producer in the world and accounts for 23% of the global output. “The summit will also help Indian dairy farmers to gain exposure about the global best practices,” according to an official statement. India ranks first among the world’s milk producing nations since 1998 after surpassing the United States as the biggest producer of milk.
According to the Economic Survey (2021-22), India’s milk production has grown at a compound annual growth rate of about 6.2% to reach 209.9 million tonne (mt) in 2020-21 from 146.3 mt in 2014-15. Milk production in 2021-22 is estimated around 2020 mt. Financial Express