ROLE OF VETERINARIAN IN DISSEMINATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS FOR AUGMENTING THE LIVESTOCK PRODUCTIVITY TOWARDS VIKSIT BHARAT

ROLE OF VETERINARIAN IN DISSEMINATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS FOR AUGMENTING THE LIVESTOCK PRODUCTIVITY TOWARDS VIKSIT BHARAT

C.Suresh¹ and V.Sujatha²

1. Corresponding author & Assistant Professor and Head, Veterinary University Training & Research Centre, Nagapattinam-611 001.
2. Assistant Professor, Farmers Training Centre, Tiruvarur – 610 004

TANUVAS – Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India-600 051

ABSTRACT

Livestock resources are highly appreciable in our nation, which support rural livelihood. The genetic potential of our livestock resources should be exploited through innovative role of veterinarians. Animal husbandry activities are gaining momentum from mere livelihood activity to livestock business. Hence, the needs of innovative newer technologies are more demand among the rural youth population to enter into livestock business. Veterinarians have pivotal role as researcher, educationist, and extension officer. The strategic areas in education, research and extension were discussed in this chapter to pave the ways and methodology for Viksit Bharat .

Keywords: Viksit Bharat, Livestock, Veterinarian, India

INTRODUCTION

India is endowed with 193.46 million cattle (Indigenous/non-descript 142.11 million and exotic/crossbred 51.36 million), 109.85 million buffalo, 148.88 million goat, 74.26 million sheep, 9.06 million pigs and 851.81 million poultry (Livestock census, 2019). India stands first in Total Livestock Population, Milk Production, Buffalo Population, Cara beef Production, Goat Milk Production, Total Bovine Population; second in Cattle Population, Goat Population, Bristle Production (a pig industry byproduct), Aquaculture, Goat Meat Production and third in Egg Production, Sheep Population, Fisheries Production; fifth in Poultry Production, Meat production; sixth in Poultry Meat Production; eighth in Duck Production and ninth in Camel Population, Wool Production. The total livestock and poultry population increased by 4.6% and 16.8% over the Livestock Census 2012 respectively. The milk production was 187.75MT/year and per capita availability of milk was 394 grams/day, which is well above the ICMR recommendations (280 grams/day). The meat and egg production were 8.11MT and 103.32 billion per year. ICMR recommendation for per capita eggs is 182 per year, whereas per capita availability is only 79 eggs/year. The role of veterinarians is essential in the enhancement of the productivity of livestock through nutritional interventions and efficient health management systems to prevent losses due to outbreaks of diseases.

I.EDUCATION

Veterinary education can be strengthened by enhancing the strength of faculties. ICT tools should be well utilized to enhance the efficiency of teaching. The number of veterinary graduates should be increased as per the demand for veterinary services in the field. The education should be improved through frequent exposure of students to the farmers at the field level. One farmer – One student approach can be initiated from the second year of undergraduate study, which will definitely benefit both the farmer and the student. The gap in the Veterinary faculty position and faculties needed for teaching and research should be filled through the country in the existing veterinary colleges.

Continuing Veterinary Education

Field veterinarians should be provided with refresher training on their need-based approach. Disease diagnosis and modern diagnostic aids, as well as hands-on surgery training, can be provided in small groups to facilitate effective learning. Refresher training can be made mandatory for their career advancement programmes.

II.RESEARCH

Two-way researches are required. Dissemination of technologies from the lab to land as well as researchable issues from the land (field) to lab is essential in the present scenario. Young faculties have to be motivated in researches, which ensure the sustainability in production.

1. Climate-resilient livestock production

The ideal temperature humidity index (THI) value for milk production is 72. When the homeostatic system fails, even survivability is at risk since thermoregulatory mechanisms are not enough to maintain homeothermy. Through both natural and artificial selection, native varieties of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and other agricultural animals have adapted to tropical and subtropical climates over many generations. Generally speaking, breeds with higher heat tolerance are also typically less productive, which is probably how they manage to remain a dominating regional breed. Animals within the same breed and breed differ greatly in how much heat they can withstand.

2. Reduction in enteric methane emission

Greenhouse gases (GHG) are methane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and halocarbons that increase the effects of thermal radiation on earth surface and atmospheric temperatures. Enteric methane emission from ruminants is one of the main anthropogenic methane sources. A global threat that raises the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere is due to the everyday increase of greenhouse gases (GHG). Many researchers have investigated the use of probiotics, chemical compounds, ionophores, essential oils, lipids, saponins, tannins, and plant secondary metabolites as feed additives to reduce enteric methane emissions from livestock. However, due to variations in extracts, dosages, and the kind and quality of the basal diet, their effect on methane mitigation is frequently inconsistent and contradictory. Therefore, finding a substitute feed additive that would reduce CH4 emission is necessary. According to research sea seaweeds are an efficient alternative to additives that have secondary metabolites with significant methane reduction potential.

3. Carbon credit

An instrument that can be traded, usually in the form of a virtual certificate, a carbon credit is a claim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or to improve the removal of greenhouse gases from the environment. Credits enable a buyer to get claims from the company that produced the boosted removals or reduced emissions. After purchasing a carbon credit, the customer can “retire” it to apply the boosted removals or averted emissions to the goal of mitigating climate change. Carbon credit should be obtained in livestock farming through suitable interventions in the farming.

4. Carbon Sequestration

In livestock farming, carbon sequestration is the process of using grazing and other land management strategies to store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the soil and plants. Because it slows down climate change, carbon sequestration is crucial. With a capacity of up to 2,400 gigatons—more than twice the quantity of carbon in the atmosphere—soil organic carbon can act as a carbon sink. However, by turning natural land into agricultural land, human activity has reduced soil organic carbon reserves.

5. Livestock Waste into wealth

Anaerobic digestion is a popular technique for turning animal waste into cash by creating biogas. This method converts organic waste into biogas and a nutrient-rich slurry by using microorganisms. The biogas can be used to heat, cook, or produce energy.

6. Efficient Livestock Vaccination system

Veterinary vaccinations have played a significant role in safeguarding both public and animal health, minimizing animal suffering, facilitating the efficient production of food animals to feed the growing human population, and significantly lowering the need for antibiotics to treat companion and food animals. Livestock vaccinations aid in boosting the immune system without actually spreading the illness. This exposes the animal to disease-causing organisms at a young age, allowing the immune system to remember the infectious agent that the animal was vaccinated against.

7. Artificial Intelligence in Livestock production

Artificial intelligence (AI) can improve livestock farming through disease prevention, predictive models, genetic improvement, parlor automation, animal welfare, environmental management, resource allocation, virtual fences and data entry

8. Organic livestock farming

The practices of pasture, animal health, and environmental sustainability are the main focuses of organic livestock production. Organic farming and animal management differ from conventional livestock management. The foundation of organic farming is the use of natural resources and techniques rather than chemicals or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The production and commerce of organic agriculture are expanding globally, and organic products are becoming more and more well-liked and profitable.

9. Conservation and Propagation of Native germplasm

Native livestock breeds are highly adapted to their respective breeding tract. The productivity of native breeds has to be fully exploited through sustainable interventions in the feeding, breeding and health management of these livestock resources.

10. Effective housing System

Livestock and poultry have to be provided scientific housing system with sufficient spacing and clean manger, drainage system, and with effective ventilation system. The housing of farm animals has to be done maintenance work periodically to provide a quality microclimate. The surroundings of the housing should be bio-fenced with fodder trees to provide clean air to the livestock.

11. Ration balancing programmes

Feeding practices to the livestock vary according to the locality. All species require balanced ratio for optimal production and growth. Ration balancing refers to balance the level of nutrients of an animal from the existing feed resources to meet their nutrient requirements for maintenance, growth and production. NDDB popularized this strategy through local resource persons. In this strategy, assessment of nutritional status of the animal, proximate composition of local feed resources, calculation of nutrient requirement of animals, and formulation of least cost ration with the existing feed resources to augment the productivity of cattle were followed.

12. Precision livestock farming

Precision livestock farming (PLF) is an emerging livestock production system approach based on the intensive and integrated use of advances in animal genetics. Animal nutrition and livestock management systems and technology of information can be utilized to control farm processes. This system is proposed to the livestock industry as an important tool to enhance sustainability and competitiveness. It has a great impact in livestock profitability due the ability to feed pigs with diets tailored daily to their nutrient requirements. This innovative decreases the environmental impacts of livestock by optimizing the use of dietary nutrients and animal nutrient utilization efficiency which results in fewer nutrients in excreta.

13. Novel feed resources

Raw materials for feed production have great competitiveness between livestock nutrition and human nutrition. Continuous research on novel feed identification, evaluation of proximate principles, evaluation of toxic principles if any, and optimization of inclusion level in various classes of livestock has to be done.  Exclusive research has to be done on marine feed resources with suitable permission from the marine authority.

14. Comprehensive health Coverage

Efficient health coverage of livestock and poultry through suitable deworming and vaccines has to be provided. Proper scientific knowledge on deworming and vaccination should be disseminated to the livestock farmers.

III.EXTENSION

Animal husbandry extension functionaries have to be strengthened with sufficient manpower according to the livestock census. The technologies in livestock farming from the universities should be disseminated to the farmers to augment their farm income.

1. Veterinary Services

Quality veterinary treatment, disease prevention, animal disease intelligence and an efficient disease outbreak reporting system have to be maintained in all hamlets of the nation to uplift the livelihood of livestock farmers. Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Universities have state of art facility for laboratory and provides veterinary services to farmers through veterinary polyclinics, hospitals, dispensaries, and sub-centers.

2. Capacity building of farmers

Commercial livestock farming requires scientific knowledge from the farmers. Capacity building of farmers should be given to modern scientific technologies in livestock farming. Thrust areas like value addition of milk, marketing of milk, modern packaging of milk and milk products, commercial mini feed mill, community chaff cutter, ten cent model of fodder system, and hydroponic cultivation of fodder should considered for capacity building on dairy farming. Thrust areas like value addition of meat, marketing of meat, commercial mini feed mill, community chaff cutter, ten cent model of fodder system, silage making, meat on wheel, modern meat shop, restaurant and hydroponic cultivation of fodder should considered for capacity building on goat farming. Thrust areas like commercial hatcheries, marketing of meat and egg, commercial mini feed mill, meat on the wheel, modern meat shops, restaurant and vertical integration of poultry production, and business on farming equipment should considered for capacity building on poultry farming.

3. Frontline Demonstrations

Frontline demonstrations on approved technologies have to be carried out continuously through outreach centres of veterinary universities and KVKs to disseminate the impact of technologies to increase the farmers income.

4. On-farm trials

On farm trials for the technologies whose impact has to be evaluated further in the field condition should be carried out through proper funding for the research in the field condition in the institution and farmers participatory mode.

5. Farmers Workshop

Regional farmer’s workshops should be organized on the thematic areas of livestock farming. The issues in the field should be recorded and transmitted from land to lab for further research and find out the solutions through workshop. The progressive farmers should be motivated to express their issues and challenges through detailed lectures. The expert’s lectures should be in such a way that to address the issues of farmers as much as possible.

6. Exhibition

Regional exhibitions and kisan melas should be conducted as frequently as possible to refresh the farmers and enable the farmers to learn the newer ideas by observing the technologies. Each capacity-building programmes in the outreach centre should be combined with the exhibition as much as possible.

7. Mass contact programmes

Mass contact programmes are being conducted by the Department of Animal Husbandry for vaccination, infertility treatment, and health camp. The Mass contact programmes cover the huge population to disseminate the technologies on a large scale in remote villages.

8. Credit linkage

The credit linkage with the financing institutions is the key step for upscaling the farming activity. The credit linkage has to be combined with capacity building of farmers. The eligible farmers should be linked with the public sector banks through outreach veterinary extension centres for effective credit linkage. The credit linkage not only ensures credit availability but also should ensure the purchase of healthy livestock through insurance coverage.

9. Market linkage

Marketing is the biggest huddle among the farmers point of view. The middleman earns more relatively than the farmers. The marketing should be concentrated through enabling the farmers themselves to do marketing. Specialized capacity-building programmes should be conducted by involving marketing experts as resource persons. Online marketing and export promotion will be useful for the farmers to fetch premium prices for their commodity.

10. Farmers Scientist Interactions

Periodical farmers scientist interactions should be conducted to address the issues and constraints faced by the farmers in the adoption of newer technologies in livestock farming.  Each farmer’s programmes will be complete only when it has farmers scientist interactions sessions. This will give multidimensional ideas for newer research in innovative dimensions.

11. Technical Advisory Services

Livestock farmers should be given immediate solutions for their issues through face-to-face technical advisory services. All outreach centers of Veterinary Universities are carrying out these activities. This will result in the emergence of newer farms and bring the rural youth under the umbrella of livestock farming.

12. Farm Visits

Subject matter specialist should visit the newer farms and existing farms for their continuous upgradation skills specifically required for their farms.

13. Exposure visits

Farmers should be brought to exposure visits to modern livestock farms. Observation of newer technologies will enable the farmers to adopt early in their farms. Exposure visits should be a part of each capacity-building programme.

CONCLUSION

The rural economy is the backbone of Indian agriculture. Agriculture and animal husbandry is the main livelihood for farmers. Hence, continuous techno upgradation by veterinarians in livestock and poultry farming will pave the way to make the transition as entrepreneurs from farmers. Viksit Bharat is in the hands of the rural youth population. Dissemination of newer innovative technologies in profitable livestock farming by veterinarians will bring the rural youth under the umbrella of the livestock business. Hence, each and every veterinarian from livestock scientist to field veterinarian has a great role in involving the rural youth generation in the profitable livestock business to provide healthy food to make a healthy nation.

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