CEAH ORGANISES A SPECIAL PROGRAMME FOR NABARD OFFICERS ACROSS INDIA
Centre of Excellence for Animal Husbandry, Hessarghatta, Bengaluru—CEAH Academy organised a special training programme, “Financing of Animal Husbandry Production and Processing Activities,” for NABARD officers representing across India from December 26 to 28, 2023. The officers were deputed through NABARD, National Banking Staff College (NBSC), Lucknow. Dr. Sudharsan, DGM, NABARD-NBSC Lucknow, and Dr. Esakkimuthu, DGM, NBSC Lucknow, coordinated in deputating 26 officers from Asst. Manager, Manager, and up to AGM grades.
The inaugural function of the programme was graced by Mrs. Brindha, General Manager, NABARD Karnataka Range; Prof. K.C. Veeranna, Vice Chancellor, KVAFSU, Karnataka; and Dr. Vasappa, DGM and Head, Union Bank Knowledge Centre, Bengaluru. They all appreciated the joint venture of NABARD and CEAH in exploring entrepreneurship opportunities in the animal husbandry sector with various business models in dairy, poultry, sheep and goats, piggery, etc.
The three-day sessions involved a packed schedule from 9.30 a.m. to 7 p.m., comprising technical sessions sandwiched with visits followed by experiential sharing in various sectors. Their accommodation was organised at “Our Native Village Resort” in Hessarghatta.
On day one, December 26, 2023, Dr. Mahesh P.S., Joint Commissioner and Director, CEAH, briefed about the overall status of the Indian Animal Husbandry Sector, which contributes about 15 lakh crores to the national GDP. The dairy sector contributes 10 lakh crores, with about 10 crore people employed; the poultry sector contributes about 2 lakh crores, followed by small ruminants; and other sectors contribute 3 lakh crores. He further narrated various entrepreneurship opportunities in the animal husbandry sector.
Both faculty of NBSC, Dr. Sudharsan, DGM, NABARD-NBSC Lucknow, and Dr. Esakkimuthu, DGM, NBSC Lucknow, presented topics from Techno-economic Aspects of Animal Husbandry Projects and Financing of Animal Husbandry Activities: Role of NABARD.
Prof. Vivek M. Patil, Associate Professor, KVAFSU, gave a business perspective on various models in the animal husbandry sector. Dr. Narahari, project consultant, explained in detail about opportunities in the poultry processing sector with ideal project financials for a 1000-bird per hour processing plant. This was followed by a visit to the Milk Cooperative Society in Hessarghatta, coordinated by Dr. H. Teggi and Dr. Balraj. During this visit, the NABARD officers were exposed to the operations of milk collection, bulk milk coolers, and other supply chain management of dairy cooperatives in Karnataka.
On day two, December 27, 2023, the NABARD officers were taken on a field visit at 7 a.m. to the Desi Cow Unit, established by a chartered accountant with 550 Desi Cows in a one-acre area at Kakolu near Hessarghatta. NABARD officers appreciated the great skill and enthusiasm of the entrepreneur for converting it into a very good business model in the dairy sector.
The technical sessions started at 9.30 am, with every session being punctually restricted for 30 to 40 minutes. The first session was from Mr. Ashok Kumar, MD, MAA integrator, sharing his experience of his venture into various sectors of agriculture and allied agriculture fields. He narrated his journey of borrowing and successfully repaying up to Rs 150 crore in financial assistance from banks. Presently, he is actively involved in poultry entrepreneurship.
This session was followed by Dr. Mahesh Kumar, Professor and Head, Dairy Engineering, KVAFSU. He is a very illustrated entrepreneur by himself being an academician, making his department self-sustaining and earning 2 crore revenue per year. He narrated various “Atmanirbhar” and “Made in India” models of dairy engineering for milk processing involving ghee making, khova making, Greek yoghurt, etc. Further, he also briefed about large-scale industrial dairy processing ventures up to Rs 300 crore across India.
The third session was presented by Dr. Dinesh Bhosale, a dairy expert from Pune, and he emphasised the significance of clean milk production in India and briefed the revolutionary success of the cooperative system in the Indian dairy sector with the help of the dairy man of India, Mr. Kurien. Mr. Muralikrishna, Joint Director, presented on Silicon City Piggery FPO with nearly 300 FPO members doing both production and trading of piglets and adult pigs across the country, especially Northeastern states.
The next session was on raw material dynamics in livestock feed by Mr. Jason John, Team Lead, United States Soya Export Council, USSEC India. In his presentation, he narrated the global dynamics and Indian supply and demand dynamics of soya and maize in India. He cautioned that growing animal husbandry required equally matching sectoral growth in soya and maize, both in productivity and scale.
Mr. Veerakempanna, a successful sheep entrepreneur, presented his experience in sharing his illustrious journey for the past 45 years in sheep farming. Mr. Veerakempanna, nicknamed “Encyclopedia in Sheep Farming,” explained in detail how to make sheep farming a sustainable venture with six months of complementary revenue from agriculture entrepreneurship synergizing with sheep farming.
Dr. Lipi Sairiwal, Deputy Commissioner, DAHD, New Delhi, presented on government-sponsored schemes in animal husbandry production, namely AHIDF and NLM, followed by success stories in each category, wherein lots of beneficiaries are benefited by a 3 percent interest subvention under AHIDF and up to a 25 to 50 lakh subsidy under NLM. Dr. Tapan Kumar Sahu, Deputy Commissioner, CEAH-AQCS, presented the scenario of the export and import of animal products from India. He narrated the present system of quarantine stations at New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru for regulating the import and export of livestock products as per the Act of the Government of India.
NABARD officers were taken for visits to all campuses of CEAH: Campus-1 (Poultry Units), Campus-2 (CFSPTI and CCBF), Campus-3 (AQCS), and Campus-4 (RFS) during the two days of training.
On the concluding day, i.e., December 28, 2023, the first session was by Mr. Anil Kumar, COO, and Mr. Madhu, marketing head of Stellapps (a dairy digital organisation funded by the Melinda Gates Foundation). They presented their revolutionary digitization of the entire value chain of dairy around the ecosystem of farmer, cow, milk society, retailing, financials, branding, inputs, etc. They are developing large-scale predictive models by using AI and ML in the dairy sector for better efficiency and profitability.
Mr. Harish Garware, CMD, Gartech, Pune, presented a detailed overview of the modernization and digitization of the poultry sector, not only in feeding and watering but also in building structures with new concepts like radiant energy usage and net zero energy consumption in poultry sheds. Mr. Santosh, an entrepreneur from Bengaluru, shared his experience with his ventures in honey bee farming and sheep farming.
The next session was by Dr. Gopakumar, MD, DLG India, who presented on the sunrise sector, “The Piggery Enterprise in India,” with as many as 10 crores to 20 crore of business opportunities per venture. This was followed by Mr. Naveen, MD, Nandu’s, and Mr. Rajesh, MD, SR Daily Nutrition, who presented on the startup ecosystem in the poultry sector for retailing and branding.
The afternoon session began with a brief presentation by Dr. R.M. Kummur, former CGM of NABARD, about the great success stories of microfinance in India in general and microfinance in animal husbandry in particular. This was followed by a session on vaccines and diagnostics by Dr. Azad Meer from Hyderabad, and Dr. Samuel, MD, Bhadra Agencies, presented on business opportunities in animal husbandry medicine, vaccines, and diagnostics. The last session on the Animal Husbandry Database was presented by Dr. H. Teggi, Joint Commissioner, CEAH.
The valedictory function concluded at 5.30 p.m. on December 28, 2023. Dr. Abdul Rahman, Executive Director of the Common Wealth Veterinary Association (former President CWVA), the global body. Dr. H. Raghuraja, Director General, National Academy of RSETIS, Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India, along with their National Director, Sri. Murugesan, and National Controller of RSETIS, Mr. Singh, represented the valedictory. Mr. Jeyachandran, Regional Head (South India), UNDP, also graced the occasion. The VIP dignitaries distributed certificates to NABARD officers. NABARD officers expressed greater satisfaction and appreciated the efforts of the CEAH team in making the programme a great success.
The VIP dignitaries from CWVA, RSETI, and UNDP praised CEAH as an institution for bringing such a fantastic programme with a full package of modules around the financing of animal husbandry business models. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Esakkimuthu, DGM, NBSC, Lucknow, and a promise to engage long-term with CEAH with various programmes in the future.
