A seminar on “Silage Industry: A Paradigm Shift in Dairy Sector” was organized on 21st January 2023 as a part of the 3rd India Agri Progress Expo 2023 at Ludhiana Exhibition Centre, Sahnewal.
The Chief Guest of the event, Dr. Praveen Malik, Former Commissioner (Animal Husbandry) highlighted the importance of public-private-partnership and how they have to work in a synergetic mode to achieve the national agenda of enhancing farmer’s income. He also appreciated the idea of showcasing of the latest technology along with sharing of knowledge at one platform to create stronger research-farmer-industry relations in near future.
Dr. Harinder Singh, Executive Director, Punjab-Agro Limited presented the status of fodder processing starting from last two decade. He also brought out the role of private feed industry in enhancing the commercial concepts of fodders such as hay, silage, TMR, Fodder pellet, Mineral blocks etc. which takes a lead against other avenues in dairy farming. He further talked about the pros and cons of the commercial silage industry in Punjab. He narrated many success stories emerged in silage industry and informed the house about scope of entrepreneurship in the field of silage making.
During the technical session, experts form GADVASU, Ludhiana deliberated on various aspects of silage making and its scope as entrepreneurship development. Some successful farmers engaged in silage making also shared their experiences during the seminar.
Earlier, Dr. Rajbir Singh, Director, ICAR-ATARI, Ludhiana briefly appraised the house about the changing scenario of livestock farmers towards feeding practices of their animals. Due to land scarcity and lesser allocation of lands to fodder crops, silage making technology is coming up as a best solution to tackle this situation. He also emphasized that through these kinds of programmes, the various issue related to farmers and industry can be taken up by the researcher and policy makers. The exhibition was attended by more than 5000 participants including Government officials, researchers, students, Officials of Krishi Vigyan Kendras, machine manufacturers, and farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
Read more: https://atariz1.icar.gov.in/NewsAndEvents.aspx?Id=2228
