NDDB to promote dairy farming in Himachal

National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) Chairman Dilip Rath and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Friday held wide-ranging discussions on promoting dairying and rural livelihoods in the state, an official statement said.

An NDDB statement said the Chief Minister showed keenness for dairy development to benefit milk producers.

The NDDB plans to provide support to dairy institutions to enable them to better serve their members and promote producer institutions that remain true to cooperative values, said Rath.

Noting that a balanced ration to dairy animals significantly increases milk production, he said the dairy board intends to introduce a ration balancing programme to promote efficient utilization of available feed resources with value addition.

In addition, it will support the state government by making available quality frozen semen doses of indigenous breeds like Sahiwal and Red Sindhi for upgrading nondescript cattle breeds.

The board may also implement a progeny testing project for Jersey cattle in the identified pockets of the state which would enable production of high genetic merit Jersey bulls to meet the requirement of such bulls across the country.

The NDDB has recommended the state to shift its Palampur semen station to a suitable location where ensuring biosecurity is feasible and also requested the semen station in Aduwal be upgraded.

It will provide all technical and managerial assistance in relocating the Palampur station with complete biosecurity measures.

The Himachal Milk Federation -- with a total membership of 38,500, of which more than 35 per cent are women -- procured nearly 63,000 kilolitres of milk per day (seven per cent of marketable surplus) in 2017-18.

--IANS

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