Punjab to leverage Brazil’s expertise in livestock health
Plan involves monitoring diseases, their prevention and possibly developing vaccines
The Punjab government is discussing scientific cooperation with Brazil, known for its expertise in animal health, to curb livestock ailments that can cause farmincome losses and worsen rural distress. India saw an outbreak of the lumpy skin disease (LSD) in 2022 that has so far killed more than 200,000 cows, hurting milk output.
The plan involves monitoring occurrence of animal diseases, their prevention and management of outbreaks, with the possibility of jointly developing vaccines and other medicines, a Brazilian diplomat said.
“We had a meeting with the chief minister of Punjab. We also got in touch with three big universities —Punjab Agricultural University, GADVASU (Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University) and Lovely Professional University (a private university in the state). We are planning some scientific cooperation with them. We are thinking of a joint research project with them. It’s not a technical cooperation. We are going to discuss a joint research project in the field of monitoring the occurrences of animal diseases, to prevent outbreaks and develop some strategies to cope with outbreaks if they arise,” Angelo de Queiroz Mauricio, agricultural attaché at the Brazil embassy in New Delhi told Mint. The two sides could also explore developing Ayurvedic medicines for animal diseases.
“There is going to be another working group dealing with the possibilities for cooperation between universities and research institutes. The possibility of developing vaccines together were discussed during a meeting with the Lovely Professional University, precisely with the department of Ayurvedic medicines for animals. An Indian company has already started to discuss development of some products. India is in touch with some Brazilian companies. There is a long way ahead to develop ayurvedic products for veterinarian treatments. This is one thing that we are going to explore,” Mauricio added.
Queries sent to the deans and spokespersons of Punjab Agricultural University, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, and the chief executive officer and the Secretary of Investment Promotion Punjab remained unanswered till press time.
Apart from vaccines, Brazil and Punjab government could also explore developing Ayurvedic medicines for animal diseases