Animal husbandry forms the bed rock of Indian agriculture and serves as a bulwark against the slings and arrows of a capricious climate that mostly holds hostage the agriculture scenario across the country as well as in Assam. Animal husbandry practices are adopted on a smaller scale and mostly by farmers who don’t have the means to consider their expansion on a broader scale. The various forms of animal husbandry practices that find acceptance among Assamese farmers help to guard against the economic volatility that these farmers are often on the receiving end of, owing mostly to the unpredictable outcomes of the various agricultural ventures that they are engaged in.
The availability of milk in Assam is dangerously low, besmearing Assam’s reputation as a poor performer in the national sweepstakes of states where Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh continue to rule the roost. The per capita availability of milk is 77 g/day, which is way below the recommended average daily intake of 300 g/day of milk prescribed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), placing Assam among the worst performers in terms of milk production. The recent outbreak of Lumpy Skin Disease has posed a tremendous challenge to the farming community and veterinarians alike, significantly affecting milk production in a state that is already struggling to meet the ever-growing demand for milk. The outbreak of LSD has already led to the deaths of over 150 cattle in Darrang district. LSD is an occasionally fatal zoonotic disease whose symptoms include but are not limited to nodules on the skin and other parts of the body. Vaccination is, at present, the only recourse that can help restrict the spread of the disease.
A vast majority of the Assamese population is non-vegetarian, and there is a high demand for pork meat, which also forms a part of various delicacies savoured by the Assamese community. The local breeds of pig could be upgraded through AI programmes and thereby fetch farmers better returns. The outbreak of African Swine Fever triggered a massive wave of panic among the pig farmers, stultifying enthusiasm and denting the collective strength for upscaling the piggery sector. A highly contagious and deadly viral disease, the mortality from its outbreak reaches as high as 100%, wiping out economic gains in one clean sweep. On-farm biosecurity is central to stymying its outbreak, and proper and timely diagnosis, followed by appropriate control measures, can go a long way in ameliorating the ravages of a disease whose outbreak is not just rapid but menacingly sepulchral. The need for veterinarians is only accentuated by the recent outbreaks of Lumpy Skin Disease in cattle and African Swine Fever that have battered the farming community in a big way, taking the wind out of their sails, who previously appeared enthusiastic and motivated to take up animal husbandry-related ventures.
Assam continues to lag behind other agrarian states in terms of milk, meat, and egg production. The failure to meet the nutritional needs of a state will have long term ramifications and severely affect the productivity of its populace. Therefore, there is an urgent need to chalk out strategies that would help augment the production of milk and meat and fulfil the per capita protein requirements while also bringing about the overall development of the state. Veterinarians have the domain knowledge and organisational skills to bring about much needed change in the veterinary sector, and the government should not hesitate to tap into the vast reservoir of talent at its disposal.
Veterinarians undergo a rigorous and extremely difficult 5-and-a half-year course that is on par with their medical counterparts. However, job opportunities for veterinarians in Assam are few and far between and are definitely not commensurate with the “rigour” that they are pressed against to obtain their degrees. Veterinarians can play a complementary role in the diagnosis and control of various diseases in humans that are transmitted from animals. The emergence of antibiotic resistance in humans owes its share of blame to the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in livestock, mostly by veterinary field assistants. This problem could at least be mitigated by involving an adequate number of veterinarians in the field who could check the rampant misuse of antibiotics engaged in by VFAs. Many veterinarians are specialised in microbiology and pathology and have the expertise and knowledge to be engaged in various diagnostic laboratories. Diagnostic laboratories are a must to ensure proper treatment for animals. Most of the veterinary dispensaries are in a dilapidated state, devoid of diagnostic facilities, making it extremely difficult for the veterinarians to render the right treatment. This has not just allowed for a sense of ennui to settle in among the public surrounding the sincerity of veterinary doctors but also bodes ill for the future of the department that holds so much promise and hope.
Himanta Biswa Sharma has shown sufficient enthusiasm to revamp the veterinary sector and has also promised to create 600 posts of veterinary doctors in the state to meet the need for manpower. Doctors undergo appropriate and adequate training, making them the right people to address difficult problems that emerge from time to time. Veterinary assistants, on the other hand, are trained to assist doctors, and their training certainly cannot pass for the expertise that a veterinarian acquires over half a decade of learning and rigorous training. Himanta’s promise of 600 posts has renewed hope and enthusiasm among the veterinarians, which is also consonant with the various needs of the department. There will be dramatic change and improvement in the department if necessary steps are taken to facilitate the materialisation of a promise that has the potential to revolutionise the animal husbandry department.