BackNational Workshop on Conservation and improvement of Native Small Ruminant Breeds of Odisha at Bhubaneswar

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One day national workshop on “Conservation and improvement of Native Small Ruminant Breeds of Odisha” organized at Bhubaneswar by Society for Manaement of Information, Learning and Extension (SMILE) in collaboration with Indian Society of Sheep and Goat Production and Utilization (ISSGPU) on 28-12-2016. Sh. Pratap Chandra Dash, Director, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services Odisha presided over the workshop. Dr S.M.K. Naqvi, Director CSWRI &President ISSGPU was the chief guest of the occasion andDr B.C. Pattannaik, Ex-Director CSWRI was the guests of honour. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Naqvi gave emphasized on increasing pressure on small ruminants due to higher slaughter rate as a result of increased demand of meat in the country. He told that prolific breeds with high body weight along with high reproductive efficiency are essential to meet ever increasing demand for meat. He also emphasized on the need of conserving native breeds in order to harness the potential of their breed specific characteristics like prolificacy and palatability of meat. Sh. Pratap Ch. Das gave a brief overview of status of small ruminants in Odisha and the steps taken by the Department in line of conservation of native breeds. About 60 personnel from State Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services including Joint Directors, Assistant directors, Chief District Veterinary Officers and Senior Veterinary Officers including some progressive farmers from different districts of Odisha Participated in the workshop.Dr A. Sahoo (P.S and Head Animal Nutrition Division), Dr A.K. Shinde (P.S and I/c PME), Dr G.G. Sonawane (Sr Scientist, Pathology), Dr P.K. Mallick (Sr Scientist AG&B), Dr D. Sethi (Scientist, Veterinary Extension) from CSWRI and its regional stations and two professors from College of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry Bhubaneswar participated in the workshop and delivered their presentations on reproductive physiology, nutrition, breeding, disease prevention and extension approachesrelated to conservation of local breeds. State Officials presented various developmental measures that are being undertaken by the state department on this aspect. The presenters gave emphasis on development of breeder societies, establishing cooperative marketing model, exploring scope of meat processing, using alternative feeding resources to economize production process, prevention of diseases and human resource development of stakeholders as essential facets of breed conservation programme. Registered small ruminant breeds of Odisha and the breeds under process of registration were also discussed. A compendium of invited papers of the workshop and annual report of SMILE were released on the occasion.