Animal husbandry amid COVID crisis

Anurag Borthakur

The advent of COVID-19 has put brakes on the wheels of the economic engine, the marginalized section of the society being worst hit by such a slowdown. Assam is basically an agrarian state, with 60% of its population engaged in agriculture and allied activities. The jinx of COVID-19 also brought with it a welter of ills hitherto alien to the State of Assam. African Swine Fever, an extremely severe and contagious viral disease resulting in acute haemorrhagic fever and subsequent death, has been reported for the first time in Assam. Fortunately, there is no animal to human transmission of the virus saving us from being sucked into a whirlwind of trouble. However, the economic repercussions of the disease are catastrophic and have dealt a severe blow to the people engaged in pig farming. The Government of Assam has signalled the process of culling of pigs to curb its spread and has promised compensation to the farmers commensurate with the market price of the pigs slaughtered. State Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department has already started the process of culling in keeping with the govement's diktat but expressed concern over burial of such a large number of carcasses. The pig farmers of Assam are at their wit's end, their economic source deracinated from a double whammy of COVID-19 and ASF.

Animal Husbandry forms the bulwark against the slings and arrows of economic upheavals, an archetype of various agricultural practices in current times. That is one reason why Government likes to wax eloquent about the importance of Animal Husbandry and yet nothing tangible matching the encomium has materialized so far on the ground. Lumpy Skin Disease, which is yet another foreign disease, has menacingly lashed the shores of Assam at a time when the entire country is being bled dry grappling with a plethora of problems related to COVID-19, lockdown and economic inertia. Lumpy Skin Disease is an infectious viral disease which affects the cattle population and is transmitted through arthropod vectors such as mosquitoes and ticks. However, in contrast to African swine fever, the mortality from Lumpy Skin Disease is extremely low. Even so, there is a significant decline in the milk yield among cows affected by this disease causing severe economic losses to the farmers. The disease was first reported in Cachar, Karimganj, Hailakandi in the Barak Valley, and Kamrup in the Brahmaputra Valley. However, recent reports suggest that the disease has spread to various parts of Assam and is posing a significant challenge for the veterinarians to get around the problem. The treatment of this viral disease is also quite difficult and exorbitant requiring the whole gamut of antibiotic and supportive therapy.

As per the 19th livestock census, Assam has a total of 395900 crossbred cattle and 9911800 indigenous cattle. The norm is to have at least one veterinarian to cater to the needs of 5000 cattle. There is an urgent need to recruit more and more veterinarians manning the Veterinary department to deal with the various problems plaguing the department. Veterinarians are entrusted with a lot of responsibilities, from vaccination of animals, treatment, apprising farmers of various Government schemes, educating farmers on various farming practices to increase yield and stave off diseases to engaging in various flood relief work and animal rescue. The acute paucity of veterinarians in the State Veterinary dispensaries is a cause for serious concern. The dilapidated conditions of veterinary dispensaries, lack of manpower, little incentive from the government to uplift the department has already dampened the morale of the veterinarians who are already stretched thin to meet the various demands of the department and ameliorate the deteriorating conditions of the farmers. The Government of Assam should immediately initiate measures to fill the vacant posts in the various veterinary dispensaries and hospitals of Assam and also chalk out a roadmap to build more veterinary facilities, install high end diagnostic tools and also create special vacancies for veterinarians with specialization in Microbiology and Pathology to facilitate better diagnosis of diseases. It is unfortunate that despite this tearing need for veterinarians to meet the ever-growing needs of the farmers and the public in general, veterinarians from Assam are looking for jobs outside of their State owing to the slowness and delay in the process of recruitment for various positions in the State Department. A little impetus to the Veterinary department can go a long way in improving the economic condition of the farmers and bring about development to the State.

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