‘Declare Livestock Sector As A Farm Activity’

INDIA - The need to declare the livestock sector as an agricultural activity was emphasised at a two-day symposium on ‘Livestock Industry - A Key Driver of Agriculture’ organised by the Compound Livestock Feed Manufacturers Association (CLFMA) which concluded here on Tuesday. Association Chairman C. Vasanth Kumar told press persons that it was now neither being treated as an industry nor an agricultural activity.

Pointing out that Tamil Nadu accounted for about 90 per cent of the exports, he said most of the importing countries were in the Gulf. However, in the wake of an outbreak of avian flu in Manipur, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia had imposed a ban. Other nations like Oman, Kuwait and Iraq continued to import eggs mainly from Tamil Nadu. Normalcy was expected to be restored within a couple of months. The government should acknowledge the contribution of the sector to the economy and extend appropriate concessions.

Tax

The ceiling on capital subsidy should be raised. It should also ensure that all perishables were brought out of the tax net. Though the government was expecting a double digit growth in the GDP, the growth in the agriculture sector was not going beyond four per cent. While the constraints were land and water, animal husbandry viz. dairy and poultry had no such limitations. Organised poultry meat sector was growing at the rate of 10 to 12 per cent whereas the egg sector was growing at four to five per cent. Milk production was expected to be around 100 million tonnes this year. Stating that the growth pattern reflected the potential of the sector, he said the government should facilitate improvement of animal genetic resources.

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Source: The Hindu

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