Govt committed to tackle cattle diseases: Pawar

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today said the government was committed to tackling all diseases affecting the country's livestock population, especially foot and mouth disease (FMD), as part of the efforts to boost the export potential of the sector.

Laying the foundation stone of the International Centre for Foot and Mouth Diseases at Arugul near Khurda in Orissa today, Mr Pawar said India loses about $ 4.5 billion dollars a year due to the adverse effect on the performance of the animals because of various diseases.

He said diseases like FMD affected the export potential of the livestock industry because of import curbs imposed by countries free of these diseases.

Mr Pawar said the Centre would set up high quality research and laboratory facilities to tackle this situation.

The minister said that though the Indian economy was growing rapidly and agriculture was making a remarkable contribution to it, the sustainability of agricultural growth was a matter of concern.

He said the livestock sector had positioned itself very well. Milk production in the country was growing at a rate of 3.3 million tonnes per annum. But unless efforts were made to contain and manage common diseases such as FMD, the country would remain far away from its target of 160-170 million tonnes of milk by 2020, he said.

In this context, the new centre would play a crucial role in India but also in the whole of South Asia, he said. He said the facility would be functional in three years at a cost of Rs 45 crore.

Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who was the Chief Guest on the occasion, hoped the facility would help Orissa become free of FMD. The state government has provided 100 acres of land for the centre.

Minister of State for Agriculture K V Thomas and Agricultural Research Secretary Mangala Rai were amongst those present on the occasion.

NNN