Union Minister calls for creation of animal disease free zones for boosting value-added meat products

What is the News?

Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry has called on stakeholders to work towards the creation of region-specific animal disease-free zones in the country to boost exports of value-added meat products.

What is an Animal Disease Free Zone?

According to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), zoning is a risk management strategy for achieving the progressive control and eradication of animal diseases, and for providing guarantees for international trade.

Animal Disease Free Zone is one in which the absence of a specific infection in an animal population has been demonstrated in accordance with the relevant requirements. 

What is the importance of an Animal Disease Free Zone?

Animals are the life support system for the rural economy, they provide sustenance in difficult times and a great source of nutrition, particularly proteins, for the rural folk. There is a need to work to increase animal productivity.

Moreover, India is the largest exporter of frozen and bovine meat. Hence, there is a need to create region-specific animal disease-free zones in the country.

What are the steps taken by the Government to help this initiative?

National Animal Disease Control Programme

National Livestock Mission (NLM)

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority(APEDA)

How to achieve Animal Disease Free Zone?

India must take small steps and work towards declaring small regions disease-free. For instance, creating an animal disease-free zone of a few districts at a time.

Source: This post is based on an article “Union Minister calls for creation of animal disease free zones for boosting value-added meat products” published in PIB on 28th March 2022.