ICAR-CIARI, Port Blair, organized a one-day workshop on "Scientist-Farmers Interaction to Promote Entrepreneurship in Animal Husbandry Activities" on the eve of "World Veterinary Day 2023" on April 28, 2023, under the azadi ka amrit mahotsav. World Veterinary Day is an annual event celebrated on the last Saturday of April to raise awareness about the importance of veterinarians and their contributions to animal health, welfare, and public health. The theme for this year is "Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusiveness in the veterinary profession", to advocate for the fairness and equity of the efforts of veterinarians, veterinary associations, and others.
Dr. S.D. Kannan, IFS, Chief Conservator of Forests, A&N Administration, was the chief guest. Dr. K.A. Naveen, Director, DAH & VS, A&N Administration, and Smti Archana Singh, GM, NABARD, Port Blair, were the guests of honour, while Dr. Eaknath B. Chakurkar, Director, ICAR-CIARI, Port Blair, presided over the function. A total of 93 participants, including senior veterinary officers from DAHVS, scientists, SMS from KVK, farmers, and stakeholders, attended the programme.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. S. D. Kannan congratulated the Director, CIARI for organizing such an important workshop in the present context. He stressed that the contribution of veterinarians to the country’s GDP is enormous. We are number one in milk production and number three in egg production in the world. The role of veterinarians is very important in maintaining the continuous production of milk, meat, and eggs to cater to the needs of a huge population. He appreciated the role of ICAR-CIARI in the characterization and registration of important breeds, viz., the Nicobari pig, the Nicobari fowl, and the Teressa goat. He wished all the veterinarians and other stakeholders related to the profession who are working for the welfare of the livestock sustainable production.
Dr. K. A. Naveen highlighted the progress of the veterinary profession and animal husbandry activities, particularly in the last three decades. Animal husbandry is now a separate ministry with a wider vision and role for the overall development of animal husbandry activities. He insisted on developing the market chain and the cold chain for better income. He informed that the department is now focusing on developing rural poultry production. He further urged to work on solving the problems of availability of feed and fodder in the islands.
Smti. Archana Singh highlighted the role of NABARD in promoting farmers through various subsidy schemes, grants, capacity-building programmes, the formation of FPOs, etc. She urged the farmers to come forward and avail themselves of the benefits.
Dr. Eaknath B. Chakurkar, in his address, signifies the role of veterinarians in almost every field of activity. He highlighted that the island is rich in forest cover, and there is a lot of potential for tree fodder to meet the green fodder requirement. In addition, the island is also rich in medicinal plant diversity, so the scope of ethno-veterinary practices and medicine is enormous. He suggested that the inter-plantation areas between the coconuts could be exploited to grow fodder. He also stressed that to get optimum productivity from livestock and poultry, scientific management practices should be adopted.
A special lead lecture was presented by Dr. V. Ranganathan, Professor and Head, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, TANUVAS, Tamil Nadu, on "Application of farmer-friendly Ethno-Veterinary Practices". On this occasion, eleven successful livestock and poultry farmers were felicitated for their significant achievements. Four technical bulletins were also released on this occasions. Dr. Jai Sunder, Head (I/C) Division of Animal Science, gave the welcome address, while Dr. A.K. De, Senior Scientist, proposed a vote of thanks. The programme was coordinated by Dr.P.A. Bala, Senior scientist.