India to build new FMD research centre

India will build a new foot-and-mouth disease research centre, as livestock diseases are causing the country to lose US$4.45 billion per year, according to a senior government official.

Animal diseases such as foot-and-mouth-disease (FMD) affect the export potential of livestock due to existing trade barriers that prevent the shipping of livestock and co-products to countries that are free of the disease.

The contribution of the agriculture industry to the Indian economy is significant, but the sustainability of agricultural growth is a concern, said Union Agriculture Minister Shri Sharad Pawar.

While the dairy sector is growing well per annum, it will be difficult for India to achieve its production target of 160-170 million tonnes of milk by 2020, said the minister.

As such, the International Centre for food-and-mouth diseases to be built in Arugugul, near Khurda, Orrisa for Rs450 million (US$22 million), will play a crucial role not only in India but also in South Asia, said Pawar.

The centre will be functional within three years and will be dedicated to high-tech research in the field of foot and mouth disease of cattle, he said.

The Animal Resources Department has taken steps to vaccinate about 45 lakhs of cattle per year for the past three years to control FMD, but sporadic occurrences have severely affected production, said Orissa Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik.

The establishment of this institute, which will be built over a 100-acre land, will greatly help in the characterisation of FMD virus strains involved in outbreaks through advanced molecular biology and immunological techniques and the tracing of FMD infection.