Giving a fillip to animal husbandry as a growth engine of the primary sector, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu directed the officials to increase dairy, poultry and meat production by 20 % from this year. In a review meeting with the animal husbandry department, the Chief Minister highlighted the potential of the department to provide employment to one crore people.
The Chief Minister set a three-year target to bring animal husbandry and fisheries on par with agriculture and horticulture departments.
Officials informed the Chief Minister about the plan to increase the department’s revenue to Rs 44,241 crore from the current Rs 36,798 crore. Once this is achieved, the Chief Minister said, officials will be appreciated with incentives and awards. “If we can achieve the target by Sankranti 2016, we will organize animal stalls and competitions,” he added.
Animal husbandry Head of Department Kondala Rao informed the Chief Minister that they were able to increase milk production in Chittoor district by providing quality fodder for animals. They have allotted Rs 15 crore for this.
Stating that Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat are leading in milk production, the Chief Minister directed officials to work towards positioning Andhra Pradesh among high milk producing states.
It has also been decided to hand over sheep farming units to women from S.C., S.T., B.C., Minority and DWCRA groups. Sheep farming was also identified as a focus area. The Chief Minister also suggested the officials to explore setting up meat processing units and market them to achieve good results.
Principal Secretary (Animal Husbandry) Manmohan Singh, Vijaya Dairy Managing Director Ramana Murthy, APSSDC CEO Ganta Subba Rao and others were present.
