Livestock Fair-2025 commences with a vision for self-reliance in Assam

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJanuary 9, 2025

The much-anticipated Livestock Fair-2025, organized by the Assam Livestock and Poultry Corporation (ALPOC), is set to commence on Thursday with a vision to bolster self-reliance in Assam. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is expected to inaugurate the event at 11 a.m.

The fair is a flagship initiative of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, aimed at promoting livestock and poultry farming as a means of rural economic growth and youth employment.

Addressing at a press conference, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Minister Krishnendu Paul highlighted the growing importance of the livestock industry. “Livestock farming is emerging as one of the most promising avenues for achieving self-reliance in Assam. By organizing fairs like this, we aim to inspire educated youth to pursue careers in animal husbandry, thereby creating employment opportunities and strengthening the state’s rural economic foundation,” he said.

The Minister elaborated on several state and central government initiatives designed to promote livestock farming. He said the commercialization of Poultry Sector in Assam Policy, introduced in February 2024, focuses on self-sufficient poultry production systems, providing subsidized loans for entrepreneurs to establish medium and large poultry farms.

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“Under the Special Program for Existing Entrepreneurs’ Development (SPEED) scheme, financial assistance is offered to entrepreneurs in the poultry, laying hen, and goat farming sectors,” Paul said.

The minister said a state-of-the-art Semen Preservation Center in Khanapara, Guwahati, supports pig farmers through free artificial insemination services and processes up to 400 pigs daily.

Vaccination campaigns under the National Animal Disease Control Program (NADCP) address diseases like PPR (Peste des Petits Ruminants), Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), and anthrax.

“The Assam government, in collaboration with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), plans to establish large milk processing plants capable of processing 1 million liters of milk daily under the North East Dairy and Food Processing Limited,” he said.

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The minister also claimed the recruitment of 71 veterinary officers and 445 field assistants has been completed to expand veterinary services. Facilities such as ultrasonography (USG) in veterinary hospitals and specialty pet hospitals in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, and Bokakhat are underway. Multicare veterinary clinics are being constructed in five districts: Golaghat, Tinsukia, Kamrup, Lakhimpur, and Sibsagar.

ALPOC chairman Manoj Saikia highlighted the corporation’s consistent profitability and its role in empowering youth.

“ALPOC has trained 24,000 youth and helped 11,000 become entrepreneurs by connecting them with banks and offering subsidies,” Saikia said.