Stress on ‘modern pig rearing’ laid in Shillong

A Reporter

SHILLONG: A two-day workshop on ‘Piggery and Poultry Value Chain’ was inaugurated on Thursday by Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong at the State Convention Centre here. The workshop is being organized jointly by the Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Department, Cooperation Department and Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA).

Speaking at the inaugural programme, Tynsong said that livestock rearing is an integral part of the rural life in the State and has played a pivotal role in supplementing the income of the rural population.

To meet the shortage of meat production in the State, Tynsong urged the farmers to adopt the modern method in both rearing and breeding of pigs and poultry.

He said the workshop would in the long-run be very beneficial and helpful to the State and urged all the participants to actively take part and take back valuable inputs and suggestions rendered by resource persons during the two-day workshop.

Earlier, KN Kumar, Agriculture Production Commissioner, Government of Meghalaya, in his keynote address, informed that 75 per cent of the populace in Northeast region consumes pork but pigs are still being reared in the indigenous and non-scientific manner. This results in consumption demands are not met in the region.

He informed that the objective of the workshop is to intensify piggery in the region in a scientific manner and promote piggery and poultry value chain in the Northeast region.

He added that the components of the workshop is to establish a value chain by creating a pool of private commercial breeders, scientific rearing, artificial insemination, vaccination of pigs, pig feeds to be produced scientifically and locally, provision of para veterinary services and pig sheds which are scientific and hygienic.

During the inaugural programme, the chief guest along with others dignitaries released the Draft Meghalaya Piggery Mission Document.

Also read: Meghalaya news