Govt initiative to shield farmers during animal epidemics

“There are several instances that after the outbreak of any disease in animals mainly used for meat consumption, importing countries put a blanket ban on export of either poultry products or buffalo meat. This had spelt doom for farmers, as culling of chicken meant losing everything,” a source in the agriculture ministry said, adding that poultry farmers lose eggs as well when a bird is culled.

Explaining the new initiative, the source said, “The country would be divided into separate compartments in accordance to disease- prone areas. If there is a bird flu or hand-foot-and-mouth (HFM) outbreak in any particular compartment, the meat product of that region would not be allowed to be exported to any foreign country, but the animal products of disease-free compartments could be exported without any objection from international fraternity.”

 “The method has been formulated after meeting all international standards and abiding  by norms of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), which is the intergovernmental organisation responsible for improving animal health worldwide. After this, India would also be bound to allow the import of poultry products from the countries adhering to OIE norms,” the source said.

Elaborating further, the source said, all the states have to meet set parameters to be inducted into a safe compartment. “A state would be selected to compartment if there is no outbreak of HFM disease among buffaloes and bird flu among chickens for consecutive three years, 100 per cent vaccination (twice in a year), no reporting of transfer of HFM to calves, availability of veterinary doctors, lesser disease incidents, etc,” the source said, adding that the country would be divided into 22 such compartments.

Other countries which are following such method to boost meat business, include Russia, South Africa, Canada, China, Indonesia, etc.

To sensitise states about this method, the Centre directed them to draw up five-year action plan during a recently held meeting with states, which was headed by Animal Husbandry Secretary Devendra Chaudhary.

The move will help a large number of farmers, who are dependent on animal husbandry for their livelihood. According to the data, India exported 2.4 million tonnes of beef and veal, compared to 2 million tonnes by Brazil and 1.5 million by Australia in financial year in 2015. These three countries account for 58.7 per cent of all the beef exports in the world. India itself accounts for 23.5 per cent of global beef exports.