The animal husbandry department should emphasise on increasing the income of cattle rearers in the State. The Minister of State for child development, animal husbandry and pasture development Rekha Arya said this while undertaking a meeting of the department at Vidhan Sabha on Thursday. The Minister directed the officers to recruit ten women para vets in all nine mountainous districts of the state.
She said the officials to focus on doubling the income of farmers and stressed on improving the breeds of animals. She urged the officers to provide training and loans to the farmers through cooperative to increase their income.
She said that these women ‘Para Vets’ would help in improving the breed of the animals. Arya said that there are women veterinary doctors in the animal husbandry department but all ‘Para Vets’ in the department are males. She said that now there is need to train women as ‘Para Vets’ to provide veterinary services in the villages.
The Minister also emphasised that the goat meat from Uttarakhand should be branded as natural Himalayan meat which would help in boosting its sales. She added said that a plan has been made in this regard by the department.
The Minister said people interested in animal husbandry should form small cooperative societies to augment their income. Arya added that women should be given priority in this area. She directed that the proposal to establish a centre for improvement in Sahiwal breed of cow at Katarpur in Hardwar district should be forwarded. Arya said that the proposal of opening two slaughterhouses each in Kumaon and Garhwal divisions are also on anvil.
Arya said that Animal fairs and exhibitions after the monsoons should be held in different parts of the state where seminars, display of Agri-products and felicitation of farmers engaged in improving the breeds of the animals would be organised. The meeting was attended by the Secretary Animal Husbandry R Meenakshi Sundaram, Director Animal husbandry K Joshi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sheep development Board Avinash Anand and other officers.