The Central Government of India cautioned that there could be an environmental problem and impact on human beings and to avoid such a situation proper use of cattle waste is essential.
Giving a forewarning at a session on ‘Feed, food, and waste’, Union Minister Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar said there was an urgent need to intensify a campaign for effective use of animal waste as the adverse environment could make the feed for milking cattle a scarcity and the human beings will have to bear the brunt of it.
“Fodder availability can be a challenge in the future; we should deliberate on how we avoid this. We have to work on finding solutions for the challenges in the sector and many, including start-ups and cooperatives, are working towards it. We should ensure that our cattle receive the feed, as proper feeding will enhance milk production, ultimately enhancing milk production.” Tomar added.
During the session, Tomar said that we usually do not dispose of the waste properly. Whether it is the crop stubble or the disposal of fruits and vegetable waste in homes, converting them into wealth is the need of the hour.
There is a need to think and work on how we can use waste in different ways. He also highlighted that natural and organic farming are a few ways to utilize waste for farming and could help save the environment. Tomar informed the attendees that PUSA Institute has developed a decomposer that is being used across farms which are also being used to ensure feed for cattle animals.
Attending the session Varsha Joshi, Additional Secretary, Cattle & Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India highlighted the efforts being undertaken by the government, aimed to improve the availability of fodder under the National Livestock Mission.
Joshi informed us that the Department of Animal Husbandry always worked in tandem with NDDB. "The Ministry and NDDB have set up a new biogas plant in Ramnagar where the dairy plant will operate on biogas. We intend to replicate it across the country," Joshi said.
The session – Feed, food, and wastage – was organized on the third day of IDF World Dairy Summit 2022 Other speakers who spoke on the topic included Kenichiro Toyofuku, Director (Corporate Planning), Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., Allard Esselink, Global Technical Manager Dairy, Trouw Nutrition, Netherlands, Dr. Chetan Arun Narake, Director, Gokul Milk Cooperative, Kolhapur and Niranjan Karade, Team Leader (IPM cell), NDDB.
