Mar. 06, 2023

Shri. Giriraj Singh, Hon. Union Minister, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Government of India, visited a cactus demonstration site in Wardha, Maharashtra.  Spineless cactus as a xerophytic plant, has tremendous potential. However, it has remained unexplored for food, fodder, fuel, fertiliser requirements and even by the fashion industry (5 F plant). For a complete understanding of the economics of cactus cultivation and its benefits to the farmers, cactus-based biogas, bio-fertilizer, bio-energy and vegan-leather made out of cactus, were demonstrated to the Hon. Minister. The demonstration was jointly organised by BAIF, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) and 3 Miracles. BAIF provided 15 tons of spineless cactus from its Central Research Station, Urulikanchan, Pune for this demonstration. Considering the multiple uses, economic, environmental and nutritional benefits of spineless cactus, the Hon. Minister showed keen interest in promoting cactus in dryland areas of India and provided valuable guidance for developing projects with various stakeholders.

Mr. Rahul Kardile, District Collector, Wardha, Mr. Rohan Ghuge, CEO, Wardha, Dr. Shiv Kumar Agrawal, Regional Director, ICARDA, Dr. C. Anandharamakrishnan, Director, NIIST, Dr. Hukum Singh Meena, Additional Secretary, Department of Land Resources, Mr. Bharat Kakade, President and Managing Trustee, BAIF, Dr. Vitthal Kauthale, Chief Thematic Programme Executive, BAIF, Mr. Ravi Madan and Streekaya team, Mumbai and Mr. Manish Aswa, Ahmedabad were present during the visit and discussions.

Feb. 26-27, 2023

BAIF Uttar Pradesh participated in the farmers’ fair organised at the Rani Laxmibai Central Agricultural University at Jhansi on February 26-27, 2023.  Sri. Surya Pratap Shahi, Cabinet Minister for Agriculture, Agriculture Education and Agriculture Research, Government of Uttar Pradesh accompanied by Sri. Anurag Sharma, Member of Parliament and Dr. Purushottam Sharma, Principal Scientist, Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi visited BAIF’s stall and appreciated the BAIF model for improving the livelihood of livestock rearing families in Uttar Pradesh. The stall was also visited by Dr. Ashok Kumar Singh, Vice Chancellor, Rani Laxmibai Central Agricultural University in Jhansi and by the MLA and Chief Development Officer, Jhansi. The dignitaries were briefed about the development programmes launched by BAIF in Bundelkhand region. The stall was visited by a large number of farmers.  BAIF stall won the second prize at the fair.

Feb. 26, 2023

The Chondha Gram Panchayat, Community Hall and Girls hostel was formally inaugurated by Shri .Kunvarji Halpati, Hon. Minister of State, Tribal Development, Labour and Employment and Rural Development, Government of Gujarat on in the presence of Dr. K.C. Patel, Member of Parliament, Valsad and Dang constituency, Shri. Arvindbhai Pateil MLA, Dharampur, Shri. Atik Desai, Trustee, LTPCT and Ms. Gayatri Oleti, Operations Head, LTPCT. Approximately 500 villagers from Chondha and surrounding villages were present on this occasion along with staff from LTPCT and Anil Naik Technical Training Centre, Kharel. Community leaders and partner NGOs of LTPCT in Navsari and Dang and BAIF Livelihoods Gujarat, were also felicitated on this occasion. Mr. Jayanti Mori, Joint Programme Director, BAIF and Mr. Abhishek Pandey, Additional Chief Programme Executive, Gujarat were also present on this occasion.

Chondha village in Vansda taluka of Navsari district, is the seat of tribal education. It houses the Dr. Manibhai Desai Navchetan Secondary School established by the  Navchetan Manav Vikas Mandir in 2001 with the vision of providing higher education to tribal children especially girls. With the generous support of Larsen and Toubro Public Charitable Trust (LTPCT), a well-equipped laboratory and a residential hostel for 120 tribal girls has been established.

Feb. 26, 2023

Unique, flavoured millet-based food preparations, knowledge session on millet crops and their role in nutrition and food security against the background of climate change, interactions with the tribal farmers and seed-savers were some of the key takeaways for 350 participants at the Pune Millets Festival organised on February 26, 2023 by the Department of Agriculture, ISKCON, Pune and BAIF as a part of the United Nations declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets. The Festival aimed at creating awareness and ushering in the goodness of millets into the palates of the general public. The festival was inaugurated by Mr Vikas Patil, Director – Agriculture, Government of Maharashtra in the presence of Mr. Sanat Kumar Das, Director, Govardhan Rural Development (Govardhan Eco Village) and Mr. Pramod Takawale, Programme Director, BAIF.

Mr. Sanjay Patil, Chief Thematic Programme Executive, BAIF, introduced the participants to BAIF’s work on Millet diversity in Maharashtra, its role in promotion and conservation of millets through community-led initiatives, traditional knowledge of tribal communities and research and extension activity undertaken in tribal clusters of Maharashtra. Grassroot millet conservators from various tribal clusters were felicitated on this occasion. Nutritional qualities of millets were discussed by Dr. Archana Thombre, Medical Officer, YASHADA while Ms. Meghna Shukla, renowned recipe writer, demonstrated simple but delectable millet-based recipes. Such festivals with collaborative effort will facilitate efforts to take millet diversity to the masses and in turn, ensure its conservation and value.

Feb. 23, 2023

The Integrated Livestock Development Programme for Hill Areas in Uttarakhand across 11 districts was launched in the presence of Shri. Ajay Bhatt, Hon. Minister of State for Defence and Tourism, Government of India, Shri. Saurabh Bahugana, Hon. Animal Husbandry Minister, Government of Uttarakhand, Dr. Prem Kumar, Director, Animal Husbandry Department and Dr. Rakesh Singh Negi, CEO, Uttarakhand Livestock Development Board (ULDB) at an awareness camp organized by ULDB under the National Livestock Mission at Sitarganj, Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand. BAIF demonstrated a live model of Integrated Livestock Development Centre which was appreciated by the dignitaries.

On this occasion, 62 Livestock Development Centres were flagged off digitally by Shri. Saurabh Bahuguna and green flags were waved to the Artificial Insemination (AI) Technicians who will be In-Charge of these centres. Dr. Raviraj Jadhav, Regional Director – BAIF-North, briefed the dignitaries about BAIF’s activities in Uttarakhand state and highlighted the invitation and overwhelming support which had been received by our Founder Dr. Manibhai Desai, from Shri. Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh which had been instrumental in the launch of the Integrated Rural Development Programme of BAIF in Uttar Pradesh.

A three-day workshop on “Application of Genomics in Animal Breeding and Health” was held from January 23 to 25, 2023 under Phase II of the Enhanced Genetics Project sponsored by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Pune.  The Workshop was organized by Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Government of India and co-organised by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), ICAR-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR), National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) and BAIF Development Research Foundation.

The workshop aimed at concretizing the genomic selection implementation in the field for the dairy sector. The discussions tried to provide answers to certain grey areas and evolve systematic and comprehensive guidelines. A concrete plan of action for the next five years was derived through a process of consensus and expert validation, involving national and international experts and other stakeholders across the dairy sector.

Chief Guest Shri. Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Government of India (GoI), inaugurated the workshop in the presence of the Guests of Honour Dr. Abhijit Mitra, Animal Husbandry Commissioner (AHC), GoI, Shri. Meenesh Shah, Chairman, NDDB, Dr. Bishnu P. Mishra, Director, NBAGR, Dr. Ashish Lele, Director, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune and Dr. Pramod K. Rout, Additional Director General, ICAR. The Round Table discussions on the second day was chaired by Dr. Abhijit Mitra, AHC.