On Thursday, the government held a meeting to assess the fodder situation in the country, during which the states informed the Centre that dry fodder prices had increased significantly compared to last year.
Senior government officials, including those from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, and representatives from at least 14 states, attended the meeting, chaired by Animal Husbandry Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh. Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh were included in this list.
Participants in the meeting, which was held via video conference, included senior officials from the ICAR-Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi.
According to sources, there was no “shortage” of fodder during the meeting, but prices were “elevated”.
During the meeting, states reported that dry fodder prices have gone from Rs 5-6 per kg to Rs 8-14 per kg this year. There are no shortages of dry fodder right now,” a source told me. However, dry fodder prices are higher this year.
Sources say the Centre has offered to transport total mixed rations (TMR), made of basmati straw in Punjab and Haryana, to regions with fodder shortages. An emergency plan will also be drafted, the source said.
A few days ago, The Deccan Era reported that the price of dry fodder reached a nine-year high (25.54 per cent) in August 2022, with rural households in the country facing hardships. In addition, it pointed out that the government hasn’t created 100 fodder Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs).
The Agriculture Ministry officials verbally informed their counterparts in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (MoAHD) that their proposal for 100 FPO would be approved on October 10.
