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On the eve of International Women's Day, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying organised a virtual program to spread "Awareness on Zoonotic Diseases" through the Common Service Centres (CSC) network, with over 1 lakh women participating.
Additionally, around 2050 camps organised by village-level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) across 21 States and UTs were joined virtually, according to a statement from the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The session was chaired by Alka Upadhyaya, Secretary of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying. During the program, more than 1 lakh female livestock farmers were informed by experts and veterinarians about various zoonotic diseases, clean milk production, and the role of ethnoveterinary medicines in disease prevention. During the session, Alka Upadhyaya interacted with women livestock rearing and dairy farmers and enquired about the health, vaccination status of their livestock, etc. Secretary, DAHD mentioned the significant role women play in Dairy cooperative societies (DCS) and stated that their collective efforts have ensured greater credit facility and expanded customer base manifold. She added that the perseverance of women dairy farmers has been remarkable, and they have been able to organize themselves via Farmer Producer Organisations(FPOs), Community Linked Farmers (CLFs) and Self Help Groups (SHGs) where Dairy Cooperative Societies (DCS) were not present. Upadhyaya said that while the contribution of women to the dairy sector is enormous, they should also focus on availing the benefits of central government schemes in the sector. She highlighted that goat and sheep rearing schemes can help women farmers get good returns at a low cost. Citing the example of the Covid pandemic, she stated that there is a need to focus on preventing zoonotic diseases to prevent animal-to-human disease transmission and loss of productivity. Varsha Joshi, Additional Secretary of DAHD. Her interaction with women farmers focused on the linkages between animal husbandry practices and public health. She emphasized the need for hygienic, sustainable practices in the sector and discussed the significance of clean milk production and taking biosecurity measures to prevent the transmission of diseases from animals to humans. (ANI)
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