J&K organises 'Vishal Pashudhan Vyapar Mela' to boost dairy farming & milk sufficiency

The Department of Animal and Sheep Husbandry held a Vishal Pashudhan Vyapar Mela in Lakhanpur in Kathua district to promote the expansion of animal husbandry activities in the Union Territory. The government hopes to attain milk self-sufficiency through this programme.

"This'mela' is a great initiative to enhance dairy farming in the Union territory and boost the interaction between the buyer and the supplier," Principal Secretary of Animal and Sheep Husbandry Navin Kumar Choudhary told media on Sunday.

"This step will help Jammu and Kashmir in a big way to achieve the target of becoming self-sufficient in milk production," he added.

Yasha Mudgal, the Secretary of the Cooperatives Department, was the guest of honour at the event, and Choudhary and Mudgal jointly inaugurated the mela.

"Just like Punjab and other states, this mela is being organised here. Animals that help in dairy farming are here. I hope that via this project, the Union Territory gets sufficient milk production. I ham happy that the Jammu and Kashmir government has made such an arrangement," Mohammad Sadiq, a buyer said. 

"This move by the government would help in saving time and money for the farmers who would otherwise have to journey out to neighbouring states to purchase excellent cattle," said KK Khajuria, another local present at the event. 

The mela, organised by the Department of Animal and Sheep Husbandry, is the first of its kind, encouraging the sale and acquisition of a variety of cow, buffalo, sheep, and goat varieties.

Vishal Pashudhan Vyapar Mela

In a similar event organised in Jammu and Kashmir in July this year, Choudhary highlighted the government's recent initiatives to achieve self-sufficiency in milk production, saying that the easing out of schemes related to Dairy Production, Animal and Sheep Husbandry received tremendous response, with over Rs. 10 crore rupees in subsidies disbursed to farmers through a variety of schemes in the previous fiscal.

He explained that the goal of implementing hand-holding programmes in Animal and Sheep Husbandry was to make J&K self-sufficient in milk production, as the state currently imports over 25% of its milk from Punjab and Haryana. On July 21, Principal Secretary of Animal & Sheep Husbandry Navin Kumar Choudhary inaugurated the 'Two Day Vishal Pashudhan Vyapar Mela' at Sports Stadium, Hiranagar in Kathau district in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

(with inputs from ANI)

Image: ANI