Fleshy deal

Oct. 29: If you are a die-hard non-vegetarian and have been furrowing your brow over the prices of meat and dairy products, your worries may be about to end.

Advanced breeds of livestock and poultry will be introduced to cater to the growing demand for dairy products, meat and pork and to create employment opportunities for youths in Karbi Anglong district.

Karbi Anglong deputy commissioner M. Angamuthu said better varieties of poultry would be purchased from Sri Venkateswara Hatcheries in Pune, famous for the Venky’s brand of poultry products. Pigs from the Indian Council of Agriculture Research in Meghalaya and parent livestock from Gujarat and Haryana will also be brought in.

“Initially the parent livestock will be kept in farms of the veterinary department. The hybrid offspring will be later shifted to sheds owned by self-help groups,” a source said.

The veterinary department and nearly 500 self-help groups will be involved in the process.

A veterinary department official said the rate of production of new varieties was higher than that of the traditional varieties of livestock.

“Generally, the mortality rate of the traditional varieties is very high. The project will aim at bringing about a revolutionary change,” the official added.

According to data available with the Indian Council of Medical Research, the annual requirement of meat and milk in the hill district is 13,654 tonnes and 82.6 million litres respectively.

The requirement of eggs is just above 234 million.

A recent survey revealed that only 3,651.47 tonnes of meat, 20.36 million litres of milk and 8.86 million eggs are produced in the district annually. Since 90 per cent of the population is non-vegetarian, the demand for meat is especially high.

“We hope to encourage the younger generation to take up pig farming as a means of self-employment,” said senior veterinary officer Mriganka Sekhar Borua.