India committed to control FMD of cattle: Rawat

New Delhi, Feb 13 (IBNS) India is committed to control the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) to increase the productivity of livestock sector, said Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries Harish Rawat here on Monday.

Stating this at the inaugural session of three-day International Conference on Scientific Developments and Technical Challenges in the Progressive Control of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), here on Monday, Rawat said that controlling the disease will help improve the livelihood of small, marginal and resource poor farmers.

The Minister said, "The biggest impediment to growth of the livestock sector is the prevalence of Foot and Mouth Disease in the country after Rinderpest. This adversely affects the performance of the animals, resulting into direct economic losses, to the tune of Rs.20,000 crores per annum. Apart from this, presence of FMD has badly affected export potential of the livestock industry.

"There is a trade barrier, preventing export of livestock and their products, to the countries, which are free from this disease. The indirect losses, due to reduced work capacity, such as abortions, subsequent infertility and sterility, which cause reduced milk production, have not be quantified. One of the most significant achievements of this sector is the eradication of Rinderpest and Contagious Bovine Pleuro-Pneumonia from the country."

Rawat said: " India is producing about 300 million doses of trivalent vaccine per annum and the demand is expected to go up to 600 to 800 million doses in next 3 to 5 years. Indian Veterinary Research Institute is trying to set up a new plant in its Bangalore campus under PPP mode with an estimated capacity of 100- 150 million doses."

Referring to research and development activities carried out by ICAR, he said, "During the last more than 50 years in FMD, ICAR has made the country self sufficient, for the requirements of the FMD control programme in the area of diagnosis, surveillance and monitoring.

"Two institutions of ICAR, the Project Directorate on FMD at Mukteswar, and the Bangalore Campus of Indian Veterinary Research Institute, are working exclusively on this major disease, and providing all the required technical support to the DADF and the state Governments, for the implementation of the FMD control Prorgramme."

The Minister said that for ensuring the maintenance of disease free status, and to be compatible with the standards, laid by the OIE, a World Animal Health Organisation, major health schemes have been initiated, to support the animal health programmes in the states.

In order to control the economically important livestock diseases, and to undertake the obligatory functions, related to animal health in the country, Central Government is implementing various Schemes for control of these diseases, Shri Rawat added.

Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries sectors play an important role in the national economy, as well as in the socio-economic development of the country.

It is predicted that livestock will contribute, more than half of the total agricultural income, in the next two decades, besides providing cheap nutritional food, to million of people.

It provides, not only essential proteins and nutritious human diet through milk, eggs, meat etc., but also plays an important role in utilization of non-edible agricultural by-products, and utilization of raw materials, such as hides and skins, blood, bone, fat etc.

According to estimates of the Central Statistical Office, the value of output from livestock and fisheries sectors together at current prices was about Rs.4,08,386 crore during 2009-10.

It was Rs.3,40,473 core for livestock sector and Rs.67,913 crore for fisheries, which is about 29.7% of the value Rs.2,28,809 core was high than paddy, which was Rs.1,35,307 crore, wheat (Rs.1,03,226 crore) and sugarcane (Rs.37,766 crore).