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Expressing concern over the rise in the cost of animal feed in the last few years, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala on Thursday said there is a need to think about the food security of animals as well and prepare some programmes to ensure it. He urged entrepreneurs to explore possibilities of converting agri-wastage into animal feed.
“Like programmes on food security for humans, we will have to think about food security of animals,” Rupala said addressing a conference on the ₹15,000-crore Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF).
The Minister highlighted that the FCI godowns are full of foodgrains and asserted that there is a need to prepare a programme to maintain the same level of food security for animals. He also said that the sector can contribute immensely to help meet the objective of doubling farmers’ income.
The fund seeks to incentivise investments by individual entrepreneurs, private companies, MSMEs, and Farmers Producers Organisations (FPOs) to set up dairy and meat processing capacities, animal feed plants, breed improvement, and many other segments.
Providing Kisan Credit Cards
Rupala said his ministry is aggressively working to provide Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs) to animal husbandry farmers. The government has given a lot of attention to this sector in the last eight years, including the setting up of a dedicated ministry to promote developmental activities in animal husbandry, dairy, and fisheries.
Rupala also launched the credit guarantee portal for AHIDF. During the launch, NABARD Chairman GR Chintala highlighted the uniqueness of the scheme with its features for credit guarantees.
The Credit Guarantee Portal has been designed as a rule-based B2B portal and shall implement the enrollment of eligible lending institutions under the Credit Guarantee Scheme, issuance/renewal of Credit Guarantee Cover, and Settlement of Claims.
One of the key elements of the AHIDF scheme is the Credit Guarantee Scheme (₹750 crore) for Animal Husbandry and Dairying, which is being managed by NABSanrakshan Trustee, a wholly owned subsidiary of NABARD.
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