ICAR organises awareness on scientific rearing of mithun

Dimapur, Feb. 26: ICAR-NRC on Mithun conducted “Farmers awareness programme on scientific rearing of mithun and veterinary health camp” at Tening village under Peren district on February 24. The programme was conducted for disseminating scientific inputs for improving the traditional husbandry practices of mithun in the farmers’ fields.

Traditionally, mithuns are reared under free range of forest eco-system by the tribal people. With the increasing global warming and shrinking forest, occurrence of disease outbreak in mithun is frequently encountered with high mortality. It is simply because mithun lives in a natural habitat where close monitoring is often not feasible.

ICAR-NRC on Mithun, Medziphema, is mandated for the conservation and propagation of mithun and has taken several initiatives for improving health, production and reproduction as well as characterisation of the available germplasm. Under the efforts taken by ICAR-NRC on mithun during last year, mithun of Tening village are now regularly visiting the salt lick place and a temporary shed erected in the forest itself. It has given an opportunity to the mithun owners to have better interaction with the animals. In continuation, awareness programme was held where the mithun herd in the village was vaccinated against Foot and Mouth Disease, deworming besides distribution of materials for fencing, mithun shed, veterinary medicines, school stationeries to the economically poor children etc. The mithuns were also ear tagged for addressing the issue of ownership dispute.

The resource persons of the programme were Dr MH Khan, senior scientist; Dr. Kobu Khate, ACTO; and Dr. Kezhavituo Vupru, ACTO, from ICAR-NRC on Mithun.