Animal husbandry academy set up in Bengaluru to train veterinarians

A Centre of Excellence for Animal Husbandry — Animal Husbandry Academy of India (CEAH) — has been set up at Hessarghatta, Bengaluru.

Set up under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying as a consortium of five organisations, CEAH-Bengaluru is spread over 642 acres and consists of the Central Poultry Development Organisation and Training Institute, Central Frozen Semen Production and Training Institute (CFSPTI) and Central Cattle Breeding Farm (CCBF), Animal Quarantine and Certification Services and Regional Fodder Station.

The main objective of CEAH is to develop capacity building for training in the domain expertise for animal husbandry officers and entrepreneurs across the country and the globe, said Mahesh PS, Joint Commissioner and Director, CEAH-Bengaluru. The animal husbandry academy will focus on training veterinarians on latest issues in technology, soft skills along with IoT, AI, ML among other techno-commercial aspects, Mahesh said.

To be nodal centre

CEAH will also act as a nodal centre for capacity building commission, and establish farmer demonstration units with successful business models for adoption at field. “We aim to train about 2,000 professionals including veterinarians and entrepreneurs annually,” Mahesh said.

CEAH Bengaluru aspires to provide state-of-the-art single facility with modern technology and infrastructure in the animal husbandry sector. It has poultry automation units, modern dairy sheds, international animal quarantine facility and the biggest fodder seed production unit in the country with latest technology adoption for irrigation.

The Indian animal husbandry sector is valued at ₹15 lakh crore contributing to the national GDP with dairy sector being ₹7-8 lakh crore, small ruminants ₹3-4 lakh crores, poultry sector ₹1.8 lakh crore.