Participamnts attending the virtual interface workshop on ‘Promoting and Branding Mithun’ in collaboration with the Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) of the Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ATARI) of Zone VI and VII on June 22. (Photo Courtesy: ICAR-NRC on Mithun)
KVKs from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland participates through video conferencing
Medziphema, June 22 (MExN): ICAR-NRC on Mithun, Medziphema organized one-day virtual interface workshop on ‘Promoting and Branding Mithun’ in collaboration with the Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) of the Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ATARI) of Zone VI and VII on June 22.
The Institute in a press release stated that during the last 32 years, the Institute, the only research organization in the world, while exclusively working for the continual improvement of the species has not only generated invaluable scientific data towards the understanding of the unique species but also developed several packages of practices and technologies.
Accordingly, the workshop was conducted to promote scientific mithun husbandry as an entrepreneurial activity to economically uplift the tribal population through the integration of scientific mithun husbandry and its diversified use in terms of value addition of mithun meat, milk, draught-power and hide.
At the outset, a brief presentation was made by the Scientists of the Institute highlighting the various technologies and packages of practices of the Institute namely Semi-Intensive System of Rearing Mithun Mineral Blocks, Areas Specific Mineral Mixture (µthimin), portable Mineral Block Dispenser, Fixed Time AI FTAI), milking in mithun and its value addition. During the deliberations, Dr Bidyut C Deka, Director, ICAR-ATARI Zone VII, and Dr Anil K Tripathi, Director, ICAR-ATARI Zone VI, extended their support to promote and brand mithun husbandry as an entrepreneurial activity and implored upon the Institute to identify some KVKs from each mithun rearing states that will serve as a base for trial and dissemination of various technologies.
Dr Bhupendra Nath Tripathi, Deputy Director General (Animal Science), ICAR lauded the semi-intensive system of mithun rearing as a game-changer and stressed on educating the farmers about the benefits of the alternative system following upon which the various other technologies can be integrated into this system of mithun rearing.
Dr Ashok Kumar Singh, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Extension), ICAR, in his concluding remarks, emphasized on the need to identify the technology service sectors which can be taken up by KVKs on a mass scale and imparting skill training to the rural youths, farmers and other stakeholders to promote mithun as an entrepreneurial activity. Dr Singh further urged to develop a basket of technologies that can easily be understood by the farmers and ready for commercialization.
Dr Abhijit Mitra, Director of ICAR-NRCM highlighted the prospects of the champion animal of North-East India, Mithun.
A total of 26 KVKs from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland, Directors of ICAR Institutes, experts, and scientists of national repute, scientific faculty, and staffs of ICAR-NRC on Mithun, Nagaland actively participated the workshop through video conferencing.
The workshop was co-ordinated by Kamni P Biam, Scientist, ICAR-NRC on Mithun.
