Union Secretary of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Alka Upadhyaya, chaired a Regional Review Meeting on 23rd August 2024 at New Delhi with Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Secretaries, Directors, and scheme officers from the Animal Husbandry and Dairying Departments of the Northeast States, including Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura, to discuss the progress of various departmental programs and schemes.
The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying informed that the Secretary assessed the schemes of Rashtriya Gokul Mission, Entrepreneurship Development under the National Livestock Mission (NLM), National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) and National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD) during the meeting.
Upadhyaya urged officials to identify local strategies to enhance the number of productive bovines and address fodder constraints, taking into account the unique terrain of the Northeast states. She emphasized the need for optimal use of infrastructure created under the NPDD scheme for milk collection, chilling, processing, and testing. Increasing the coverage of the organized dairy sector, promoting indigenous milk products, enhancing value addition, and developing marketing action plans were highlighted as strategic approaches to strengthen the dairy industry in the Northeast region.
Further, the Secretary encouraged the states to enhance their approach to development through the available schemes and further recognised the efforts of the states in establishing farms under the Entrepreneurship Development programs of the NLM. Emphasis was also made to continue the promotion of Realigned Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund scheme among beneficiaries to maximise its benefits and foster entrepreneurship. States presented their new initiatives and best practices during the meeting.
Upadhyaya urged the collective responsibility of all stakeholders to ensure the success of the 21st Livestock Census while highlighting the critical role this census will play in shaping future policies and programs for the Animal Husbandry sector and called for leveraging the latest technologies to achieve its successful implementation.
