Make animal husbandry a profitable enterprise

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: NABARD chief general manager K C Shashidhar on Friday stressed the need for making animal husbandry a profitable enterprise for drawing entrepreneurs to the sector.He was addressing a consultative workshop on animal husbandry, jointly organised by the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) here.“The question is, is it worth taking up animal husbandry business. Also, the emphasis is on how many entrepreneurs are there now and how the number can be doubled,” he said. Shashidhar said that unemployed youth and NRIs looking for opportunities to invest in the state should be attracted to the sector. The extension policies should also factor in affordable loan rates for farmers, he said. Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University Vice-Chancellor B Ashok emphasised the need for strengthening extension activities in the animal husbandry sector and reiterated  Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University’s commitment to bolster farmer-academic interface at the recently opened university.