Hyderabad : OMICS Group to organize 2nd International Conference on Animal & Diary Sciences with a theme “New Challenges and Emerging Issues in Animal Sciences and Dairy Research” here in city at Hyderabad International Convention Center(HICC) from 15th to 17th September, 2014.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. S Ramalinga Raju, Retired. Director of Animal Husbandry, AP Govt said India has one fifth of the livestock of the world.  We are number one in the milk production in the world.  We are number one because of numbers but not because of productivity, he said and added that New Zealand though has limited land for Livestock it has doubled its milk production from 3000 Litres to 9000 liters per lactation(300 days).  Israle who is know for better in feed and management produces anywhere in the range of 12000 to 13000 liters per lactation.  They have fully exploited genetic potential.

In Cow milk production too we lag. Only 9 per cent of total cow milk produced all over the world is produced in India.  This is being the performance despite of having largest livestock in the world.  67% of the total buffalo milk produced in the world is produced in India, he informed.

Further Dr. S. Ramalinga Raju said that we aim to achieve by 2020 175 million tonnes of milk.  To achieve this what is required is disease control, Research, better feed and Monitoring systems, he informed. Even we are unable to export our milk and milk products because of various reasons. One is we unable to control diseases.  Particularly European Union asks for the source of the milk and its certification, which is not possible for us. That is the reason why we are not able to export our milk products, observed Dr. S. Ramalinga Raju.  A Conference like the one being organised by OMICS Group will help the industry, he said.

Punganur is one rare breed of cow which is the world’s smallest cow. It is on the extinction.  Only handful of them are surviving.  Now some progressive farmers are coming forward to save this breed. That is why recently one Punganur cow was sold for rupees four and half lakhs, he said.

The Punganur breed is dwarf cow, which originated in Chitoor District, Andhra Pradesh, India, is considered one of the world’s smallest cows. It is the worlds shortest, humped cattle. The Punganur breed’s milk has a high fat content and is rich in medicinal properties. It is also highly drought resistant, and able to survive exclusively on dry fodder.

The Punganur is on the verge of extinction, with some 60 odd animals remaining. This decline is mainly due to the Indian Government’s somewhat short-sighted objective of ‘bettering’ Indian cattle breeds with an influx of Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cattle traits from developed countries, and banning the rearing of native bull breeds. The remaining Punganur cattle are being reared mainly on the Government Livestock Farm, Palamaner, Chittoor district, while a small informal group of private breeders are also working on reviving the species.  It is not officially recognised as a breed since there are only a few animals remaining.

Punganur cow is a craze among the rich he informed.  The world’s shortest cow, the Punganur dwarf cow, now is an endangered species, is most sought after in Greater Hyderabad due its high-fat milk yield, low weight, and small size. This cow has become a new found craze, a status symbol and the moneyed class in the state.  This cow is believed to bring good luck.  Many rich, people from high society and VIPs choose to rear this breed. Among those rich and high society people who are proud owners of this variety are Nandamuri Harikrishna, Son of late Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and TTD Chairman Kanumuri Bapi Raju, former CM Kiran Kumar Reddy Dr. G B K Rao, Chairman & Managing Director, Pragati Green Meadows & Resorts Limited also owns 5 such cows.   May be because of so much craze associated with this little animal, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) said to have many Punganur cows.  It said to have about well over 200 such cows and the ghee from them is used in offering for Lord Venkateshwara.

Now the situation is changing. If focused we will save this breed in near future he said.

The Animal and Diary Sciences Conference is organised by OMICS, a Hyderabad headquartered with offices in USA and other countries. It is the Scientific Event organizer as well as publisher of 500 online open access science journals. It organizes 100s of scientific events all over the globe with the support from 300 plus associations across the world. This proposed conference is the second conference on the subject to be held in India and 210th OMICS Group Conference.

The conference aims to bring together leading academic scientists, researchers and scholars to exchange and share their experiences and research results about all aspects animal and dairy sciences. The first conference held last year in USA was a huge hit with its participants.

500 delegates from across the globe are expected to participate in the meet.

Some of the eminent speakers who will deliberate the meet include Mr. Zakaria Zaky from Assiut University Egypt; Kumar Venkitanarayana of University of Connecticut, USA; Nandkishor Namdeorao Zade, MAFSU, Neelesh Sharma from SKUAST India and many others.

This conference will enable a common platform where any participant can discuss their research in order to establish a scientific network that binds together the academia with industry to foster collaboration informed Dr. Srinubabu Gedela, CEO of OMICS Group while addressing a press conference here in city today.

The Conference will discuss among other subjects include Animal Breeding and Genetics, Health and Nutrition, Animal Biotechnology, Milk and Dairy Technology, Animal Diseases, Veterinary Medicine and Treatment, Animal Models and Testing, Animal Ecology, Recent Developments, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Poultry and Veterinary Public Health

Animal Science is a diverse and fascinating amalgamation of applied and basic life sciences, fundamentally focused on enhancing the efficiency, profitability and sustainability of the domestic animal industries. The scope of this international conference  is broad, covering all aspects of both domesticated and wild, animal species informed Dr. Srinubabu Gedela

Dr. Nissar Hussain, a Retired CEO AP Livestock Development Agency also addressed the press conference.  He urged to protect rare breeds such as Punganuru Cow, Ongole Gitta etc.

It directs the health and nutritional needs of domestic animals, wildlife and zoo animals, birds etc. It has made many contributions to animal and human ecology. We aspire that this scientific conference helps to converge private industry in areas such as marketing of animal-health commodities, monitoring of animal health in large scale animal-production programs, and biomedical research. Various other branches such as dairy farming are also included under animal science that encompasses breeding, raising and utilization of dairy animals, most commonly cows, for the production of milk and the various dairy foods processed from it added Dr. Srinubabu Gedela.

India is the largest producer of milk in the world. Milk production in the country is increasing at 4% per annum contributing more than Rs. 1,00,000 crores to GDP. There are 678 milk processing plants in the country. The Dairy and Food industries have opened up new avenues for employment and economy. Dairy industry is generating new jobs. Dairy sector is further expected to grow faster and generate more employment in the near future. Adoption of the latest & advanced technology in milk processing can provide better quality, nutrition and more benefits. Dairy and Food Technology offers a promising option for value addition and resource mobilization in terms of availability of Food for the consumers and simultaneously providing more earnings at farmers and industry level. There is large scope for Dairy and Food industry to grow in view of the globalization and increasing purchasing power of consumers. This will further increase the requirement of Dairy Technologists and researchers.

Further Dr. Srinubabu informed that next year Omics Group, the Hyderabad based Scientific Events organizer said that they will organize 300 plus Scientific Conferences across the globe of which 15 will be organised in India.