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Stone laid for foot-and-mouth disease lab

Photo: PTI

For healthy cattle: Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar unveiling the plaque to lay the foundation stone for International Centre for Foot-and-Mouth Disease, at Argul near Bhubaneswar on Sunday. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Minister of State for Agriculture K V Thomas look on. —

BHUBANESWAR: Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Sunday laid the foundation for International Laboratory for Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) for animals at Argul on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar and the Centre would be a foremost institute in whole SAARC countries.

To be built at an estimated cost of Rs. 45 crores, the international laboratory is expected to help strengthen regional capabilities and competitiveness in achieving excellence in FMD diagnostic capabilities at a faster pace.

Mr. Pawar pointed out that although FMD was not a very much killer disease, it could cause direct economic losses to the livestock growers by adversely affecting performance of the animals and such losses has been estimated to the tune of Rs. 20000 crores.

Since India managed to reduce incidence of the disease under FMD-Control Programme launched during X Plan, it became important to test the efficacy of such a programme in neighbouring SAARC countries owing to trans-boundary nature of the disease, he said.

The Centre would also produce trained manpower in the region in the field of FMD diagnosis, surveillance and epidemiology as well as help in establishing FMD laboratories in the member countries, the Union Agriculture Minister said.

“Unless we make sincere efforts to contain and manage this disease, we will be far away from achieving the targeted production of 160-170 million tonnes of milk by 2020. Besides this, poverty alleviation programme of the UPA Government through livestock centric employment agenda, among others, will also be difficult to be achieved,” Mr. Pawar said.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, “disease surveillance and consequent disease control will ensure quality assurance and will provide benefits for animals, farmers, consumers and government. The institute will immensely benefit entire South Asia in general and the State in particular to cater to the needs of our rural economy.”

Among others Union Minister of State for Agriculture K. V. Thomas, Orissa Agriculture Minister Damador Rout and Secretary of Department of Agriculture Research and Education Dr. Mangala Rai were present on the occasion.

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