Bareilly: An interface meeting titled “Advancements in Health and Production of Dairy Cows” was organized in hybrid mode by ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar and its Regional Campus, Hebbal, Bengaluru in collaboration with Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Government of Karnataka. The meeting was attended by 211 registered participants of which 14% were women and more than 300 stakeholders participated in the meeting. The participants in the meeting were Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences (77%), State Veterinary Universities/State Agricultural Universities (12%), ICAR Institutes (4.8%), KVKs (1.2%) and others.
Commissioner of Animal Husbandry and Head of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department, Government of Karnataka, Srirupa, IAS, appreciated the collaborative efforts of IVRI and Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Government of Karnataka. She appreciated the contribution of organizations like IVRI and State Animal Husbandry Departments in addressing field-level livestock challenges and providing quality services to farmers. He emphasized the need to increase productivity and reduce mortality in view of the increasing human population and declining livestock numbers. She also stressed the need to strengthen collaboration between ICAR-IVRI and the State departments of Karnataka to achieve more focused and impactful results in animal science.
On the occasion, Dr. Triveni Dutt, Director & Vice Chancellor, IVRI thanked all the officials for organizing the interface meeting and hoped for meaningful recommendations that would benefit livestock farmers of Karnataka. He highlighted IVRI’s contribution in disease eradication and the services provided to the livestock sector including educational programs for veterinarians. He also informed the participants about the Institute’s IP portfolio, ICT tools and capacity building initiatives. He also mentioned research on mastitis and reproductive issues as well as IVRI’s support during disease outbreaks and services provided to zoos and safaris. He emphasized the importance of feedback from the State Animal Husbandry Department to help shape and prioritize research initiatives.
On the occasion, Joint Director (Extension Education) Dr. Rupasi Tiwari welcomed the dignitaries and presented the profiles of the participants along with the major challenges identified in animal husbandry practices of Karnataka. She emphasized the importance of addressing researchable issues and collaborating with the State departments. She informed that the major problems raised by the participants in Karnataka included frequent breeding, infertility, anestrus, fever, downer cow syndrome, hypogalactia, mastitis, hemoprotozoan diseases (theileriosis, trypanosomiasis), low productivity and non-descript breeds. She also informed that the participants are in dire need of advanced technologies like diagnostic kits, telemedicine platforms, precision livestock farming and training in surgical techniques, USG, radiography and advances in therapy, vaccines and diagnostics. The participants also emphasized the need for tick control, disease forecasting and farmer-centric extension activities.
Dr. Manjunath S., Director, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department, Government of Karnataka Palegar highlighted the current status of diagnostic laboratories at taluka and district levels and outlined plans for expansion of well-equipped diagnostic facilities. He sought valuable suggestions for controlling diseases occurring in calves and kids, which are often overlooked by farmers and veterinarians. Additionally, he also requested assistance from IVRI in terms of supply of diagnostic kits.
Technical Session I was chaired by Dr. S.K. Singh, Joint Director (Research), who led discussions on three major topics: Foot and Mouth Disease: Incidence, Management and Control in Cattle by Dr. B.P. Srinivas and Dr. Madhusudan H, Principal Scientists, Recent advances in diagnosis, treatment and control of Mastitis by Dr. Ravikant Agarwal, Head of Biological Products Division, and IVRI Technology for Animal Health and Production by Dr. Anuj Chauhan, Incharge, ITMU, IVRI, Izatnagar. The second technical session was an interactive session chaired by Dr. Rupasi Tewari and Dr. Pallab Choudhury. The questions were mainly asked with focus on outbreaks of FMD and LSD, particularly their vaccination in cattle and calves.
Dr. Pallab Choudhury, Joint Director, Bengaluru welcomed the dignitaries and participants and emphasized the mutual benefits of the interface meeting. He highlighted its potential to address researchable issues in animal husbandry sector of Karnataka.
The inaugural session was graced by Smt. Srirupa, IAS, Commissioner, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department, Government of Karnataka as Chief Guest and Dr. Manjunath S. Palegar, Director, AH&VS as Guest of Honour. Dr. Triveni Dutta, Director, IVRI chaired the session. Joint Directors of IVRI included Dr. S.K. Singh, Dr. S.K. Mendiratta, Dr. Rupasi Tewari, Dr. Sohini Dey, Dr. Pallab Choudhury and Dr. Y.P.S. Malik was accompanied by station incharges of ERS Kolkata and RS Palampur, division heads, staff and students of IVRI. Officials from Animal Husbandry Department of Karnataka and several animal breeders also attended the meeting.
Medical officers and pharmacists also participated.
The programme concluded with a formal vote of thanks by Dr. Bablu Kumar, Principal Scientist, Biological Products Department. Dr. Pranav Dhar, Dr. Subhashish Bandhopadhyay, Dr. Premanshu Dandapat, Dr. L.C. Chaudhary, Dr. D. Bardhan, Dr. Brijesh, Dr. Shruti etc were present among others in the meeting. Report by Akhilesh Chandra Saxena from Bareilly
