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West Bengal has witnessed a good growth in terms of meat production and chicken, goat and pig distribution to marginal farmers. The State ranks first in terms of cattle population, second in goat population and also ranks first in goat meat production in the country.
According to Vivek Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Animal Resources Development, the State’s annual egg production increased by 201 per cent; annual meat production increased by 89 per cent and annual milk production increased by 45 per cent during the period from 2010 to 2021. The State government has been focusing on livestock and animal resources as one of the priority industries with various schemes in place.
With a view to enhance poultry production, the State government has been engaging with the private stakeholders in terms of commercial layer farms by WBLDCL (West Bengal Livestock Development Ltd); creation of critical allied infrastructure by WBLDCL; capacity augmentation of existing private producers and backyard poultry farming. The State is also investing close to ₹1,404 crore to achieve self-sufficiency in egg production. As many as five commercial layer farms are being set up in the State with a bird capacity of three lakh, Kumar said at the livestock conference organised by CII here on Thursday.
Dairy farming
In terms of dairy farming, the government is looking at upscaling of artificial insemination, IVF for cattle and goats (especially Bengal Black Goat) and sex-sorted semen technology audit where all districts would be covered.
The milk cooperatives are also being strengthened with a close to ₹157 crore proposal being submitted under a JAICA programme, he said.
According to Swapan Debnath, Minister-in-Charge, Department of Animal Resources Development, the engagement of the private sector is important for the fructification of such schemes. The incentive scheme for poultry has been extended till 2023 to make the State “self-sufficient” in eggs.
“To facilitate the collection and marketing of milk, the State has taken an initiative through the Banglar Dairy by the integration of the entire dairy supply chain — extending from the farmer to the market,” he said.
Presently, Banglar Dairy is marketing around 1.40 lakh litres of milk per day and other milk products through 520 retail outlets. Close to ₹88 crore is being invested to upgrade dairy plants of Banglar Dairy, he added.
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