Leveraging the strength of existing veterinary colleges for basic research and development, seeking an ICAR Central Livestock Production and Management Institute, a cutting edge discipline of livestock development incorporating economics, extension and entrepreneurship development, upgrading existing facilities to high standards and the Animal Husbandry Department and opening one more veterinary college are among the measurers suggested by Dr. N. S. R. Sastry, a livestock specialist, for improving livestock and poultry production in the new State.
On the new state not having any Central research and development institutes, he suggests with some modifications in the policies the situation can be overcome.
Stressing the importance of the new State developing its own Veterinary Biological Research Institute, Dr. Sastry suggests that Araku-Paderu area would be the ideal location in view of the cooler climate, with sub-centres in Rayalaseema and South Coastal Andhra.
To meet the requirement of Disease Diagnostics and Epidemiology Lab, he suggests existing centres in each of the three regions may be developed into referral labs instead of one big centre.
To facilitate research, all-India coordinated ICAR and National Agriculture Innovation Project (NIAP) research and development projects should be set up in the veterinary colleges, he says.
Besides the new State should seek regional centres of National-level Avian Research Institute, Buffalo and sheep research institutes in the colleges.
Since livestock rearing is a crucial livelihood activity in the North Andhra a new veterinary college should be set up in the region as suggested by an ICAR Technical Committee as early as in the mid-eighties, says Dr. Sastry, a recipient of Eminent Scientist in Livestock Production award.
To overcome the recurrent problem of feed and fodder scarcity, he suggests that using modern technology and unconventional feeds and dry fodder feed blocks should be made at some centres and distributed in the deficit districts.
Communication from field level via video conferencing and tele-medicine and filling vacant posts are among the other measures he suggests.
