DUVASU MATHURA ORGANIZES THREE DAY WEBINAR ON : ATMANIRBHAR INDIAN POULTRY IN NEW NORMAL

[su_dropcap size=”2″]A[/su_dropcap]three day webinar was organized by Department of Poultry Science, DUVASU, Mathura during 09-11th August,2020 entitled ‘Atma Nirbhar Indian Poultry in New Normal’.The webinar was a conclave of Academia, Industry Professionals and Policy makers.

The Chief Organizer of the webinar was Prof, P.K.Shukla, Registrar and Dean PGS, DUVASU, Mathura and the Coordinator and Co Coordinator was Dr. Amitav Bhattacharyya, Asst. Professor, Poultry Science and Dr. Avneesh Kumar, Asst. Professor, A.G.B respectively.

The conference was inaugurated by Prof. G.K.Singh, Vice Chancellor, DUVASU, Mathura. Speaking on the occasion, Prof. G.K.Singh emphasized the importance of poultry productsin New Normal for providing quality protein. He also emphasized the challenges facing the industry in New Normal.

On the first day, the Chief Speaker was Mr. Tarun Sridhar, Former Secretary, Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries.

The key points addressed by him pertaining to post harvest technology, packaging, advocacy of poultry products as safe and quality protein, chicken soup as a health stimulant and the need for restructuring all across value chains were indeed thought provoking. Further, his emphasis on forming a board in the lines of allied sectors like dairy and fisheries with adequate representation from Academia, Industry and Policy makers and holding a review meeting every three months was indeed an eye opener for poultry professionals across the country. He emphasized on the need for effective packaging and an integration model in the poultry industry to face adverse conditions.

Mr. Bahadur Ali, MD, IB group was one the panelists in the webinar. He raised the concerns of the industry in the present situation and emphasized the need for support by the Government. Mr. Tarun Shridhar advised the industry professionals to request the Government to earmark an amount for the poultry sector from the Rs.15000 crore allotted for animal husbandry.

The concluding remarks were given by Dr. J.L.Vegad, Advisor, Phoenix Hatchery, Jabalpur. He addressed the issues of mutation in infectious bronchitis virus, phase variation in mycoplasma and the need for sterilizing vaccines. The vote of thanks was delivered by Prof. P.K.Shukla.

The second day of the webinar started with the opening remarks of Prof. N.P. Dakshinkar, Vice Chancellor, Chhattisgarh Kamdhenu University. He emphasized the need of poultry farming for nutritional and livelihood security in tribal parts of India.

The Chief speaker on the second day was Mr. Suresh Chitturi, Chairman, International Egg Commission and Vice Chairman, Srinivasa Farms. During his talk, he emphasized on the need for curtailing on the input costs to maximize profit. He addressed the issues of utility of GM crops to decrease maize and soya costs. He also opined that there was a need for a higher moratorium and repayment period and also a cutting down on the interest rate. He further added that it is necessary for startups to come up in manufacturing of poultry feed supplements and equipment for Atma Nirbhar Indian Poultry in New Normal.

Mr. GulrezAlam, Director, IB group was present as a panelist. He stressed the role of students in creating awareness in the society pertaining to egg and chicken as a quality protein through social media.

The concluding remarks were delivered by Prof. S.K.Garg, Former Vice Chancellor, DUVASU, Mathura. He emphasized the importance of poultry farming as a livelihood security in AtmaNirbhar India. The vote of thanks was delivered by Dr. Amitav Bhattacharyya.

On the third day, the opening remarks were delivered by Prof. P.K.Shukla. The Chief Speaker was Dr. P.S. Mahesh, Director, CPDO, Bengaluru. He suggested that big players in the market should produce according to demand. He also added that there should be emphasis on value by small players and volume by large players. He stressed the need for unity among all associations and quarters in the poultry sector and creation of a Poultry Board. Dr. Mahesh suggested some key measures as way forward in the new Normalviz. spending 1-2% of the total cost of production in the poultry sector on ad campaigns, digital marketing and digital delivery system and innovations in poultry processing, value addition and packaging of poultry products.

The concluding remarks were delivered by Prof. P.K.Shukla who stressed the need for a national repository for data collection and analysis in the poultry sector. Finally the conclave ended with vote of thanks by Dr, Amitav Bhattacharyya.