The Hindu Business Line : Call to set up council for veterinary research

THE time has arrived for the Union Government to contemplate setting up a national council for veterinary research, a la the Indian Council for Agricultural Research, to preserve the native germplasm and promote research, according to Dr N. Balaraman, Vice-Chancellor of the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai.

He made the suggestion while delivering the keynote address at the inaugural session of the two-day workshop on field practices for veterinarians organised by the Krishna District Milk Producers' Mutually Aided Co-operative Union here on Friday.

Dr Balaraman said the share of agriculture in the GDP had slumped from 35 per cent to 25 per cent during the past decade or so and the growth rate had remained stagnant at around 2 per cent, but the dairy sector in isolation had shown remarkable growth.

"It is growing at 5-6 per cent per annum and its role in future will gain greater importance. But we have to get our priorities right and focus on germplasm preservation rather than on boosting milk production alone,'' he said.

India had the largest livestock population in the world and the age-old production systems were sustainable, though of low productivity, Dr Balaraman said.

He opined that India should tread cautiously in competing with the West in the dairy sector. It would not do to ape the western models and systems. The co-operatives should be encouraged and there should be a great deal of Government support.

He stressed the need for setting up a cold chain at the expense of the Government. "Australia and New Zealand, with hardly 10-12 million tonnes of production apiece, dominate the world market with a 40 per cent share, whereas India with 100 million tonnes of production figures nowhere. Infrastructure would have to be developed to correct this, '' he said.

Dr V. Gnana Prakasam, former vice-chancellor of the TN Veterinary University, said farmer-oriented research should be taken up and by teaching farmers simple methods diseases could be prevented. There was no need for sophisticated and expensive equipment.

Mr M. Janaki Ramaiah, Chairman of the Krishna Milk Union, and Dr V. Venkatasubramanian, Managing Director of the milk factory, urged veterinarians to strive for improvement of milk yields and quality to face the competition from the private dairies and MNCs.

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