Shillong, May 15: Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) has apprised the Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Minister Sanbor Shullai about the plight of poultry & pig farmers..
In a memorandum submitted under Socio-Economics Reform Movement, FKJGP President Dundee Cliff Khongsit said field interactions revealed widespread distress among farmers.
“We have frequently observed that farmers are facing numerous challenges in their professions,” he said.
The demand is to curb the free entry of livestock from outside the state.
“Pigs and poultry produced from our state cannot be sold at a profitable price, because of the easy access of pigs from the outside of the state at a lower rate in comparison to the pigs produced from the state,” the letter said.
FKJGP attributed the recent spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) and mass poultry deaths to animals brought from the plain areas of the country.
“Presently there is no quarantine and isolation centres to cross check these animals which come into our state. Because of this very reason, there is a widespread of ASF and other diseases for the poultry sector in certain parts of our state,” Khongsit said.
“The department does not follow up the progress of the farmers and thus the end result is almost a waste of effort both for the government and for the farmers who participated the training,” he said.
In the time of medical needs, the farmers receive almost no help from the department like medicines, the FKJGP said
Pointing out the market infrastructure gaps, FKJGP said the state lacks a guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP) and organised meat markets.
“There is no organized market for the sale of the meat produced. At present there is only one active place as a modernized pig slaughter centre which is the Modern Multi-Species Abattoir in Mawlai Mawiong,” the letter said.
