The seminar that discussed areas concerning the poultry and animal feed sectors was hosted at Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA) in Pune recently.

Speaking at the seminar, Dr How-Cheong Chin, an international poultry consultant from Singapore, said that there is a need to move from ‘chicken farm’ to value-added products, which are at par for consumer expectations in terms of quality and safety for the domestic as well as for the export market.

The poultry industry will be growing and it will be a volume-based growth and we gradually need to move for automation, technical improvement and sophistication, Dr Chin stressed.

He also asked the farmers to gear up for the competition with the multinational companies as they see India as a good market, due to the growing economy, increasing power of middle class to spend more for animal proteins.

Israeli dairy expert, Jehuda Sprecher, said that Indian experts know all theory but there is need to implement it for farmer and animal welfare. Dr Sprecher also gave many practical tips for the improvement of the milk production, milk quality and also gave practical solutions of the farm management.

Dr Aditya Kumar Misra, vice chancellor of Maharashtra Animal & Fishery Sciences University in Nagpur, speaking on the state of human resources in the Indian livestock sector said that there is a huge requirement of the human resource for research, teaching and industry as the food consumption will be based on animal sources in the future, due to a growing economy, increase in woman workforce, lifestyle change and decline in agriculture production.

Dr Misra emphasised the need for Continued Veterinary Education (CVE) for updating the field and industry veterinarians about the latest knowledge/information.

Vijay Sardana, a specialist in bio-economy including food security, food safety, commodities and agribusiness from New Delhi, talked about challenges for ensuring the food safety, why it is needed and the potential reasons for food safety risks and why it is necessary to develop and address the innovative approaches for the food safety challenges to consumers.

Founded in 2008, VIPWA has 190 active members working in the private sector with a primary objective to promote technical excellence.