Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 25
As many as 28 officers of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) led by Dr PJ Ranjith, Chief General Manager of National Bank Staff College, Lucknow, visited Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Science University (GADVASU) to take stock of the initiatives taken by the university regarding climate change and its effects on livestock production in Punjab.

The meeting was chaired by Dr SNS Randhawa, Professor and Research Advisor, GADVASU, and coordinated by Dr HK Verma. Dr Randhawa, Director, Extension Education, highlighted the impact of climate change on livestock production. He also discussed various initiatives taken by the university to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Dr Verma gave the overview of the university and spoke on how extension workers are liaising with researchers and farmers. He said farmers engaged in livestock production were being motivated to adopt new technologies developed by the university to raise farm income. The university is running a project on ‘Towards Climate Resilient Livestock Production System in Punjab’. The project is being funded by the NABARD.

Dr SPS Ghuman, Nodal Officer of the project, shared an overview on the activities and importance of the project. Dr R Grewal, Animal Nutrition, shared the design of climate resilient sheds developed by the university under the project to counter the effects of climate change on milk production.

Dr MH Parkhe, Animal Reproduction, highlighted activities, which could be undertaken to make farmers aware of climate change and its impact on animal health.

Dr Randhir Singh from School of Public Health and Zoonoses, spoke livestock diseases. Dr Puneet, Animal Breeding, said the university was developing weather-linked insurance system to compensate farmers for losses suffered due to reduction in milk production on account of heat stress. He said research was being carried out to identify trigger points, which will be part of the insurance package.

The NABARD team also visited livestock, poultry, and fisheries farm and the College of Dairy Science & Technology to observe the initiatives taken by the institute to meet the challenges posed by climate change. The visit was coordinated by Parveen Bhatia, DDM, Ludhiana.