Ranchi-based Birsa Agricultural University received registration certificates from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research for its two newly registered pig breeds — Banda and Purnea
Jharkhand on Thursday got its first registered pig breeds after nearly two decades of being carved out from Bihar.
Ranchi-based Birsa Agricultural University (BAU) received registration certificates from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for its two newly registered pig breeds — Banda and Purnea.
“Since registration of any animal breed is essential for further research work and policy making by the government, now decks are cleared for conservation and promotion of these important breeds,” said a BAU spokesperson.
“The development assumes significance in the state as pig rearing is very popular among farmers in Jharkhand. Jharkhand has the second largest population of pigs (12.8 lakhs, according to the census 2019) next to Assam. However, there was no registered pig breed earlier.
Pig rearing is not only the backbone of rural farmers but it also provides nutritional security to the farmers,” added the spokesperson.
The certificates were presented by deputy director-general (animal science), B.N. Tripathi, animal husbandry commissioner, Government of India, Abhijit Mitra, and other senior officials at a function in ICAR headquarters in New Delhi which also had virtual participation of Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
“The two Jharkhand pig breeds namely Purnea and Banda, registered and discovered by scientist Ravindra Kumar of the department of livestock production and management (LPM) after about a decade of extensive research, are very popular among farmers mainly because of low maintenance or rearing cost and being very compatible for rearing under an extensive or scavenging system of management,” the spokesperson added.
Chairman of the LPM department, BAU, Sushil Prasad, and principal scientist, National Research Centre on Pig (NRCP), Guwahati, Santanu Banik, were the co-applicants for registration of the Banda breed, while Banik and veterinary officer Jharkhand government Shivanand Kanshi were co-applicants for registration of Purnea breed.
“Application for registration of these pigs, having distinct peculiarities from other recognized pig breeds, were sent to ICAR-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, Karnal (NBAGR) and finally registered. Previously these breeds were considered desi or local pigs. With these two registrations, the total registered breed of pigs in India has now become 11,” informed the spokesperson.
To see more: https://www.bauranchi.org/jharkhand-gets-its-own-registered-pig-breeds/
