Kokrajhar, Sept 12: With an objective of making Assam self-sufficient in pork production in next five years as well as meet the demand for the meat in other North Eastern states, an ambitious Bodoland Pig Mission was launched in Kokrajhar, the headquarter town of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) in Assam.
Speaking at the ceremonial launch of the programme, state Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Minister Atul Bora on Saturday said the government was aiming to make BTR the hub of piggery in the entire country in the long run. He said that though the demand for pork was high in Assam along with other NE states, these states had to depend on Punjab, Haryana, for supply of pigs.
"The low production is the reason behind it and we want to change it with this mission. We hope that besides meeting the local demand, supply of pigs can also be made to other NE states," Bora said.
This project is going to serve as an economic booster for the local piggery farmers and also help in employment generation in the field of livestock farming, he added. Addressing the gathering, Urkhao Gwra Brahma, Handloom and Textile Minister, said that piggery farms are a traditional and viable opportunity for the marginalised people of the area and a systematic approach for a better market is going to definitely bring benefits for the people in BTR. Speaking on the occasion, BTR Chief Executive Member Promod Boro said the mission will help the farmers rearing pigs to be more benefitted in their business.
"The Centre as well as the state government are extending many beneficial schemes to the BTR and we are hopeful that it will expedite our development," he added.
The main objective of the Bodoland Pig Mission is to transform traditional livelihood into sustainable economic activity, generating 1 lakh kg of pork per day by the fifth year, production of 1700 quality piglets per day and 3 lakh pigs to be made available on any day. The outcome of this mission has been ventilated at direct involvement of 30,000 households in pork production activities, additional involvement of 20,000 farmers in feed raw material production and about 5,000 direct employment generation in non-farm support activities.
