The government has unveiled plans to construct public cattle sheds in flood-prone areas to provide shelter for animals during natural disasters.
According to Minister for Animal Husbandry K. Raju, elevated cattle sheds with provision to stock fodder and water for a week are under consideration for places such as Kuttanad where farmers were found to leave the animals on bridges during the recent floods. One or two sheds would be constructed in each grama panchayat or block panchayat.
The Minister was addressing a function organised to distribute ISO 22000: 2005 certificates to dairy societies in the Malabar region. He also presented certificates to youths who had completed training under the Additional Skills Acquisition Programme (ASAP). The Minister said dairy farmers would receive Rs. 30,000 as compensation for each animal lost in the recent floods. Milma and the District Disaster Management Committees were also mobilising additional resources for the purpose in other places. The government’s objective was to provide maximum compensation for farmers and revive the dairy sector in the shortest time possible.
Certification
Underscoring the need to raise the quality of products manufactured by Milma and identify new markets, he exhorted all the units to go in for certification.
Milma chairman P.T. Gopala Kurup presided. Managing Director P. Pukazhenthy, chairmen of regional unions Kallada Ramesh and Balan Master and Director of Animal Husbandry P.G. Valsala spoke.
Source: Read Full Article
