Imphal, September 21, 2014: Manipur Veterinary Minister Govindas Konthoujam has urged the Union Government to release Rs 650 lakh earmarked for the current year for implementing Mithun Conservation Project in the State.
He was highlighting the acute shortage of animal products in Manipur while addressing the State Ministers’ Conference on Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries in Delhi on Tuesday which was presided over by Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh.
The Centre has approved Rs 2006.70 lakh Mithun Conservation Project as per a September 1 meeting under National Programme for Bovine Breeding (NPBB).
“We produce only about 25 per cent of the State’s milk requirement of 2.80 lakh MT a year. Similarly, we produce only 20 per cent of the total annual requirement of 50 crore eggs. In the case of meat production, we have a shortfall of 10 per cent of the requirement of 35,000 MT per year”, the Manipur Minister said.
Stressing the need for establishment of an Animal Quarantine Station at Moreh bordering Myanmar on priority, he said that trade with Myanmar and other South East Asian nations was expected to pick up in the coming years. “A quarantine station at Moreh would become indispensable for facilitating import and export of animals and animal products,” he said.
We are also intending to take steps for conservation of the indigenous local breed of cattle by establishing an Integrated Indigenous Cattle Centre in Thoubal District at a cost Rs 500 lakh, he added.
Source: Assam Tribune
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