Showing keen passion and love for livestock and Dairy farming, the Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today took a round of the livestock expo during the second day of the Progressive Punjab Agriculture Summit (PPAS) here and interacted with the owners of cattle, buffaloes and small ruminants.
Accompanied by a battery of the officers/ officials of the Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development department, the Chief Minister had detailed discussions with the owners of cattle who proudly displayed their elite animals, about their breed, pedigree, milk yield and salient features of every animal. Laying special emphasis on the local breeds of dairy animals such as Sahiwal Cow and Nili Ravi Buffaloes, he enquired from the farmers about the best dairy practices being implemented by them in their dairy farms and they apprised the Chief Minister with their feeding, breeding and management practices. Mr. Badal asked the Departments of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development to find ways and means for the promotion of indigenous breeds of Sahiwal and Nili Ravi as they were far more disease resistant and adaptable to local climatic conditions.
Evincing keen interest in the Sahiwal cow exhibited by the representatives of the Namdhari sect, the Chief Minister expressed his desire to own such a cow. Highly appreciating the initiative of Progressive Dairy farmers, he called upon them to become a role model to motivate the small and marginal farmers, who were holding less than five acres of land, to adopt Dairy farming on commercial and scientific lines to supplement their income. Mr. Badal asked the Dairy Development and Animal Husbandry department to jointly work out a strategy to sensitize the farmers especially the small ones to adopt dairy farming as allied profession adding he said that the state government was already providing a slew of incentives/ subsidies, capacity building facilities besides adequate veterinary health care and breeding services to the dairy farmers at their doorsteps.
Emphasizing on the need to encourage goat rearing, pig farming, fisheries and apiary, the Chief Minister said that this could only be successful if it was properly backed by the value addition in terms of meat and milk processing. He said that it was the high time to motivate the farmers to switch over from conventional agriculture to the allied farming to overcome their huge losses on account of squeezed margins due to stagnated MSP and exorbitant hike in agriculture inputs.On the occasion the Chief Minister was informed by the Animal Husbandry and Dairy development department that all the owners who have exhibited their animals were being given feed and fodder besides shelter management for their animals, free of cost. They would also be given transportation and logistic charges for ferrying out their animals to and fro from their respective destination.
Expressing gratitude to the Chief Minister the cattle owners from the state as well as from other parts of the country said that this laudatory step would go a long way in giving impetus to the Dairy sector and Punjab would soon usher a ‘white revolution’ as it had enough potential to do so.Later on the Chief Minister also visited the stalls of GEA West fallia, a German Company, known for it automization and clean milk production machinery, Progressive Dairy farmers association besides that of National Fishery Development Board and Trident group.
Prominent amongst those present on the occasion included Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr. Gaggandip Singh Brar, Advisor to Chief Minister on Animal Husbandry Dr. PK Uppal, Director Dairy Development Dr. Inderjit Singh and a leading Dairy farmer Mr. Sukh Harpreet Singh Rode.