Dr Mandeep Azad and
Dr Manmeet Motan
Do you bring home stray dogs? Do you nurse birds with injured wings back to health? Do you climb up to get the cat that won’t come down from the tree, even though you’re afraid of heights? Veterinarians are considered as best doctors because their patients cannot tell them what pain or trouble they are having.
As per recent livestock census total livestock population consisting of Cattle, Buffalo, Sheep, Goat, pig, Horses & Ponies, Mules, Donkeys, Camels, Mithun and Yak in the country is 512.05 million numbers in 2012. The total poultry population in the country has increased by 12.39% over the previous census and the total poultry in the country is 729.2 million numbers in 2012. India ranks first in milk production, accounting for 18.5 % of world production, achieving an annual output of 146.3 million tones during 2014-15 as compared to 137.69 million tonnes during 2013-14 recording a growth of 6.26 %. Whereas, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has reported a 3.1 % increase in world milk production from 765 million tones in 2013 to 789 million tones in 2014. Dairying has become an important secondary source of income for millions of rural households engaged in agriculture. Both egg and fish production has also registered an increasing trend over the years. Egg production was around 78.48 billion eggs in 2014-15, while poultry meat production was estimated at 3.04 MT. It has been said by many researchers that farmers having a good livestock population are less prone to suicide and crop failure loss.
The animal husbandry sector of India needs about 2 lakh veterinarians – as of now there are only 63,000. The VCI has increased the number of seats in colleges from 60 to 100 seats and made it easier to start new colleges.India currently has 55 veterinary colleges, with an average intake capacity of 60 students each, working out to a total of 3,300 a year. The numbers of graduates annually after finishing the five-year course is even lower, at about 2,100.”At this rate, the demand can never be met. There are 63,000 registered veterinarians today, whereas the requirement is between 1.5-2 lakh”, estimates Umesh Chandra Sharma, president, Veterinary Council of India (VCI).The general norm is to have at least one veterinary doctor for every 5,000 animals. India’s total cattle and buffalo population was 30 crore as per the 2012 Livestock Census, translating into a requirement of 60,000 vets catering to bovines alone.
These would further go up if poultry, sheep, goats, pigs and other animals are added. One way of filling the widening demand-supply gap could be through attracting private investment into veterinary education. But that isn’t easy, not the least because of the VCI’s stringent Minimum Standards of Veterinary Education. These regulations mandate every college offering BVSc degree course to have a dedicated Teaching Veterinary Clinical Complex (similar to the hospitals attached to medical colleges), an Instructional Livestock Farm Complex (with minimum 20-acres land for growing fodder and housing sufficient number of livestock/poultry) and fully-equipped anatomy, physiology and biochemistry laboratories. In addition, each college has to have at least 87 teachers at assistant, associate or full professor levels. “Fulfilling these minimum standards is difficult for any private education institution. Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, permitted veterinary colleges “with sufficient manpower and infrastructure” to increase annual intake capacity from 60 to 100 students.
Status of J&K
The total Livestock and Poultry population of J & K State is 17474551 (9200842- Livestock +8273709-Poultry). Total Bovines in the J & K State is 3591865 (3445154-Rural +146711-Urban).
The J & K state is in the 5th position with regard to Sheep population in the country. The percentage share of total Sheep Population-2012 of J & K is 5.21. The J & K State is in the 17th place with regard to Poultry in the country with the percentage share 1.13 against total population of 7292.10 lac in the country. Our state lags behind in term of livestock production and this in turn effects the state economy.
Becoming a Veterinarian is a five year tough course with field application. If you are further interested in masters and Ph.d. you must need few more years of hard work. The system of education is very tough and continuous where theoretical and practical experiences are shared with students. Regular examination and direct exposure to animal suffering and treatment is shown to these students which after tough period of 5 years become a full fledge efficient doctors who can treat their patients without talking to their patients. In Jammu and Kashmir two veterinary colleges are running under SKUAST-J university and SKUAST-K university. The students are getting U.G, P.G and Phd programmes in these colleges. As people are getting more aware and caring about their pets and livestock so it is very important to have very skilled veterinary doctors and scientists who can take care of their animals. Government should consider increasing number of posts as there is shortage of these skilled doctors. India is largest producer of milk in world and so if u want to sustain that level we need these doctors and scientist to come forward. White revolution, yellow revolution are a point of proud of Indian but they would have not been possible without expert advice these animal scientist and doctors.
It was them who took care of veterinary facilities at state level and treat animals to get maximum production from them. It is the animal doctors who reach door step of farmers and treat their animals. White revolution has been the most beneficial project funded by the World Bank anywhere in the World, an incremental return of Rs. 400 billion annually have been generated by an investment of Rs. 20 billion over a period of 20 years. FAO estimates that increasing milk production has boosted the incomes of 80 to 100 million families under white revolution , the vast majority of whom are marginal or small farmers whose plots are often too small to support their families and landless labourers who depend on common grazing lands and forests for fodder. As challenges have arisen, veterinarians have found ways to adapt given that their knowledge and training makes them multifunctional professionals. This aids societies and its animals to stay healthy and productive. It is therefore not surprising that veterinary medicine is very popular among young people deciding on a career.
Prime Minster of India Narendra Modi has stressed upon the role of livestock in lowering poverty and upgrading poor farmers. He emphasises on increasing the investment in this sector as this is the only sector with large scale self employment and can improve economic condition of farmers. National livestock policies as well as national attitudes have a key implication on defining the future role of livestock in agriculture and food security. It states that livestock is under-represented in most poverty reduction strategy papers and even when it is considered it is primarily to boost national GDP rather than to alleviate poverty. State government should also put efforts to make J&K self sustainable in milk and meat production as we are having a good germplasm to exploit.
We should concentrate on producing ample milk and meat in our own state rather than exporting from outside and for increasing livestock production we need efficient veterinary doctors who with their dedication and hard work can bring state to the leading producers of milk and meat like U.P, Gujrat and Punjab.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
