Our Bureau

Kochi , May 27

THE 6th national seminar for popularisation of oil meal usage in compound cattle, poultry and aqua feeds will be held here on June 19.

Organised by Solvent Extractors Association of India along with American Soya bean Association and Compound Livestock Manufacturers Association, the objective of the seminar is to popularise among the farmers and feed users that `balanced feed with oil meals is the best feed' in the country.

The seminar aims to focus on the need for use of high quality grade compound feeds for better productivity of meat, milk, egg, fish etc and thereby discouraging the wasteful uses of oilcakes, meals and whole cotton seed as direct feed.

The latest innovative trends in manufacturing, quality control, marketing and storage of compound would also be discussed with delegates from India and abroad, Mr D.P. Khandelia, President, SEA said at a press meet.

The earlier five seminars have created a good awareness about the importance of oil meal usage in compound feeds, he added.

He said that there is a growing potential for cattle feed in the country, which presently stands at 42 million tonnes. It is expected to grow 68 million tonnes by 2010. With the rising demand for compound livestock feed, the industry has launched steps to promote oil meal usage in feeds, he added.

However, the actual production in the country is short against the demand. The compound livestock feed production was only 2,585.4 tonnes in 2002-03. Though India is the largest milk producer and a leading producer of eggs along with the fast strides made in aqua culture, the output per animal/bird still needs improvement to march the international standards, he said.

Mr Anand Menon, Convenor of the Seminar said that there is a growing demand for oil meal based compound feed, but the manufacturers should update their knowledge and modify the existing processes in tune with the latest technology to attain optimum production targets.

The judicious combination of non-conventional and conventional raw materials with nutritional values would enable the industry to meet the feed demand, he said.

The need of the hour is to utilise optimum resources and production capacity in planned scientific manner to produce high quality compound feed and create awareness among the farmers and feed users in the country. This positive approach will help India to fulfil the growing requirements of feed in future, Mr Menon said.

About 250 delegates will take part in the seminar, which is to be inaugurated by the Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu Business Line