Union Minister of State for Fisheries and Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Loganathan Murugan inspected the dairy establishment at Mawiong and interacted with the State government officials regarding the activities taken up in the project.
Today was the second day of Murugan’s visit to Meghalaya and he also interacted with dairy farmers and discussed the activities carried out by the state in the sector and the schemes available from the central government.
Murugan also acknowledged the huge potential for dairy and animal husbandry in Meghalaya and said that the farmers can make a good living if they convert the potential.
He later visited the Indo-Danish Project of the Cattle Breeding Farm in Upper Shillong where work to produce improved breeding stock for development of cattle in the state to boost milk production is ongoing. This farm also supplies milk to the neighbouring urban areas and serves as the visual demonstration units in the scientific method of rearing, feeding and management of cattle, including fodder cultivation.
The MoS also visited the Upper Shillong-based Intensive Cattle Development Project that was established to develop an integrated approach in development of cattle breeding, fodder development, etc. The objective of the project is to upgrade local cows through introduction of better germplasm of the exotic Friesian and Jersey breeds and to induct the local tribal breeders to adopt modern scientific techniques in animal husbandry.
Murugan, while stating that there is a huge market for the produce in Meghalaya, said that a lot is yet to be done to cater to this demand. He further stated that the state has huge demand for piggery and poultry as well. This is the opportunity and the concerned departments have to work to make Meghalaya self-sufficient, he added.
Later in the evening, Murugan, who is also junior minister of Information and Broadcasting, interacted with officials of the ministry at the All India Radio premises and took stock of the activities and functioning of all the departments of the I&B Ministry.
On his first day in Meghalaya yesterday, Murugan took stock of fish farming sites and interacted with fish farmers and beneficiaries of various government schemes under the Department of Fisheries.
The minister visited a fish farm at Umeit village in Ri-Bhoi and discussed the various farming activities carried out. He also held a discussion with fish farming trainees at the Meghalaya State Fisheries Research and Training Institute at Mawpun Kshaid, Ri-Bhoi. Murugan then visited a site on Umiam Lake where fish seeds were released into the Umiam River.
He encouraged locals to pursue fish farming, generate employment opportunities for the local community and contribute to making Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
