Regional Workshop Trains Nodal Officers for 21st Livestock Census in UP, MP, and Uttarakhand

To train state and district Nodal Officers for conducting the 21st Livestock Census scheduled during September-December, 2024, a regional workshop was held to impart detailed training to officials of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand about the software and breeds. The workshop was organised by the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India and hosted by the Uttar Pradesh government.

An official release said that the Regional Training of 21st Livestock Census on Software (Mobile & Web Application/ Dashboard) and Breeds to State and District Nodal Officers (SNO/DNO) of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh was conducted on July 16, 2024 in Lucknow.

Minister of Animal Husbandry, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Dharampal Singh inaugurated the workshop in presence of Ravindra Singh, Principal Secretary, Department of AHD, Government of UP, Jagat Hazarika, Advisor (Statistics), Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India, Devendra Pandey, Special Secretary, Department of AHD, Government of UP, V P Singh, Director (Statistics Division), Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, R N Singh and Dr Prasidh Narayan, Director, AHD, Government of UP.

Addressing the workshop, the UP minister highlighted the need for comprehensive training and capacity building at the grassroots level. He said that Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of livestock in India and underscored the importance of the livestock sector in boosting the country's economy and ensuring food security.

Singh called for meticulous planning and execution of the census, stressing that the data gathered would play a crucial role in shaping future initiatives and addressing challenges in the sector. He acknowledged the efforts of the department in organising such a strategic workshop and encouraged the participants to actively engage in the training sessions to enhance their understanding and capabilities.

Ravindra Singh emphasised the integration of sustainable practices within the livestock sector and pointed out that the analysis and logical use of the data obtained after the livestock census will pave the way for formulating future departmental policies and implementing programs, as well as creating new schemes and generating employment in the field of animal husbandry for the benefit of livestock farmers.

Jagat Hazarika highlighted the importance of this workshop in his address, underscoring the department’s commitment to leveraging technology for accurate and efficient data collection. He emphasised the collective responsibility of all stakeholders to ensure the success of the 21st Livestock Census, which will play a critical role in shaping the future policies and programmes of the Animal Husbandry sector and urged them to leverage the latest technologies to ensure the success of the census.

The workshop featured a series of sessions beginning with a brief description of the 21st Livestock Census by the Animal Husbandry Statistics Division, followed by a detailed presentation from ICAR-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) on the breed details of species to be covered in the census.

The importance of accurate breed identification was emphasised, which is crucial for producing precise statistics used in various livestock sector programs and for the National Indicator Framework (NIF) of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

The workshop included detailed sessions on the methodologies and live application of software of 21st Livestock Census by Software team of Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India. They trained the State and District Nodal Officers on the mobile application and dashboard software.

These Nodal Officers shall conduct training for enumerators at their respective District Headquarters, the release added.