Giriraj Singh, Union Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, today said that the union government is committed for uplifting the standard of living of dairy farmers and several welfare schemes have been started for this purpose. He said that for improving the quality of much cattle, especially buffaloes and cows, the Union government would be providing sexed semen to the dairy farmers at much cheaper rate of only Rs 100 by 2020. He said this while addressing the gathering after inaugurating the 14th PDFA International Dairy and Agri Expo 2019 at Jagraon, near here today.While speaking on the occasion, Mr Giriraj Singh said that the Union government is committed for providing sexed semen to the dairy farmers to improve the quality of milch cattle, especially buffaloes and cows, in the country. He said the sexed semen technology would help dairy farmers ensure production of only female calves, which would eventually put an end to the practice of abandoning the male buffaloes, as that was posing a major threat to human life in the form of the stray cattle menace. He said that by 2020, sexed semen would be provided to the farmers for only Rs 100, which at present is made available at Rs 600 (with subsidy), whereas its actual cost is Rs 1200. He informed that under this project, 600 villages have been chosen in the country, where 200 cattle from each village would be provided free breeding with quality sexed semen for breeding in every village.He said that the Union government is also working to bring improvements in Embryo Transfer Technology (ETT) so as to ensure production of quality livestock.
ETT could help in speeding up breed improvement, which would fetch better prices to the dairy farmers due to higher milk yield, he added. He said that livestock had a huge potential to double farmers’ income through improved efficiency of production, quality, food safety and economics.For the development of the fisheries sector, Mr Giriraj Singh said that the parts of Punjab and Haryana, where farmers suffer due to saline water, prawn and shrimp farming would be promoted there so that both the states become hub of prawn and shrimp farming in the country, as it fetches more remunerative prices than the traditional varieties of Carp.While speaking to media persons, Union Minister Mr Giriraj Singh said that the present union government has decided not to allow import of milk from other foreign countries. He said that for safeguarding the interests of farmers, the Indian government would also terminate the contracts it had for this purpose under the WTO. He said that new pro-farmer policies are being formulated, after which dairy farmer owning two cattle would have an annual income of Rs 3 lakh. He also announced that more than Rs 13,500 crore would be spent by the Union government to ensure that the milch cattle do not suffer from any diseases.Mr Giriraj Singh also appreciated the efforts of Progressive Dairy Farmers Association (PDFA) and its president Mr Daljit Singh Sadarpura. Later in his address, Mr Daljit Singh Sadarpura raised some issues related to the dairy farmers, after which Mr Giriraj Singh assured all possible help.Punjab Farmers Commission Chairman Mr Ajayvir Jakhar also spoke on the occasion and suggested some measures to be taken by the Union government for the betterment of farmers.Prominent among those present on the occasion included Mr Raj Kamal Chaudhary, Secretary, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, and Dairy Development, Punjab, Mr Inderjit Singh, Director Dairies Punjab, Mr Jaswant Singh Chhapa, PDFA press secretary Mr Resham Singh Bhullar, besides several others.