Govt Asks All Stakeholders in Animal Husbandry Sector to Make India FMD-Free

Health care awareness, accessibility and interest remains an area of concern owing to which there are huge losses in livelihoods, feels Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh. He made the remark while reviewing the measures taken by the department towards achieving the goal of FMD-Mukt Bharat (FMD-Foot & Mouth Disease) with vaccination by 2030.

Singh said that the Livestock sector is an important sector contributing not only to the Indian economy but to the livelihood of farmers, particularly for the rural households and women who are the major force behind taking care of the livestock. The Union Minister observed that healthcare awareness, accessibility and interest remain an area of concern owing to which there are huge losses in livelihood, according to an official release.

Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, and Secretary, DAHD, Alka Upadhya were also present in the meeting. In the meeting, an Action Plan for making India FMD-free by 2030 was discussed. It was informed that all assessment was made to create zones in country, particularly in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and Gujarat on the basis of sero-surveillance where vaccination is in the advance stage and can be taken up on priority for declaring as FMD-free zones. This will help in creating opportunities for export.

The Union Ministers informed that the prevalence of animal diseases is a serious impediment to the growth of the livestock sector. Due to FMD alone, there are estimated economic losses of around Rs. 24,000 crore per year. Control and eradication of this disease would result in increased milk production, supporting livelihood of millions of farmers, increase their income, and increase exports of milk and livestock products as per international trade requirements.

The government of India launched flagship scheme of NADCP for vaccination against two major diseases viz. FMD & Brucellosis. Under the programme 6-monthly vaccination is carried out in cattle and buffaloes against FMD and is commenced in sheep and goats. The vaccination against FMD in livestock in the country with 21 states had completed Round 4 and around 82 crore cumulative vaccination done till date. Round 5 is already completed in the States of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Under the flagship Programme, the target year to achieve eradication of FMD with vaccination, from the country is 2030. At this juncture, to safeguard and strengthen the benefits achieved with vaccination, coordinated efforts are required to be planned and implemented in areas like animal movement tracking, disease surveillance, biosecurity measures etc., along with the States concerned towards creating FMD-free zones.

To give impetus to the initiative, the government has extended support and guidance for the necessary impetus to the concept of zoning to be implemented on ground. Discussions were held around the concept of zoning and the pre-requisites and requirements of achieving and maintaining the zones FMD-free. It was observed that not only it requires intensive micro-planning with the states concerned but a detailed roadmap for laying out the eventual objective of eradicating this disease by 2030 with vaccination. The meeting noted that this mammoth exercise entails ensuring quality vaccine supply to the states.

Singh mentioned that it is a matter of pride that all the animal vaccines have been developed by ICAR Institutions and are being produced domestically. India now has the capability to export vaccines to other selected Asian countries. The Department assists the State Governments technically and financially with accessories, remuneration to vaccinators, awareness creation and establishing requisite cold chain infrastructure etc. The activities are monitored in a highly scientific manner with seromonitoring and serosurveillance to ensure the efficacy and effectiveness of the FMD vaccination, which is the biggest drive, in livestock in the world.

Under the directions of Union Minister Singh the decision of vaccination of pastoral sheep and goat against FMD was extended to all such populations in the country. The vaccine supply has commenced and Ladakh has already started vaccinating the flocks. This is one of the 100-day action plans the Government has committed. The vaccination in the susceptible and pastoral flocks is closely & cautiously monitored as sheep and goats in many areas are also to be used as sentinel animals to establish the absence of circulating virus in the environment. 

Singh made an appeal to participants to take this challenge of FMD-Free Bharat and asked all stakeholders including NGOs in Animal Husbandry Sector to contribute to the goal of FMD-Free Bharat. He also highlighted the important role of Information Technology in the strict monitoring and supervision of vaccination in animals.