Shortage of meat production in state

DIMAPUR: Shortage of meat production and live animals in Nagaland was highlighted Tuesday during one day training programme on “augmenting farmers’ income in the NEH region through promotion of entrepreneurship in mithun meat processing and value addition”.
The training was organised by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – National Research Centre (NRC) on Mithun, Medziphema in collaboration with ICAR-NRC on meat, Hyderabad for farmers and butchers.
A press release by ICAR-NRC stated that chief guest of the programme, deputy director, DMC, Dimapur, Dr. Sentinungla Ao said Nagaland was still short of meat production and live animals which are imported from different states.
Dr. Sentinungla said a large amount of money was being spent every year by the state government to import meat and meat products, especially pork, from outside the state.
Stressing on the need to bring down such large scale of import to “zero level”, Dr. Sentinungla said this could only be done by implementing piggery, poultry, and mithun rearing schemes in the state and bringing marginal and commercial livestock farmers under one-fold.
Resource persons Dr. Suresh K. Devatkal and Dr. Girish Patil Sfrom ICAR-NRC on meat highlighted the importance of hygienic meat production and value addition in mithun meat for doubling the farmers’ income.
The resource persons said that there was a lot of potential to grow in the meat beat business especially in northeaster states as meat consumption was higher.
They said rapid consolidation in meat processing, more vertical integration and large number of smaller processing units would be the key trends in the future.
Director of ICAR-NRCM, Dr. Meraj Haider Khan said mithun farming was profitable and that there was a strong need to promote a scientific and alternative semi-intensive method of mithun rearing and encourage the diversified use of mithun for meat and milk, to stop the slaughter of mithun for table purpose only.
He encouraged farmers to take up other small livestock enterprises such as piggery, backyard poultry or goatery for sustainability.
Altogether 20 farmers from the Noklak district, six butchers from Dimapur district, scientists, staff members of the institute participated in the programme.