National Symposium of Indian Society for Buffalo Development 10-11 Dec 2021

Pashu Sandesh, 10 December 2021

Indian Society for Buffalo Development (ISBD) is organising a two-day symposium on Scientific Interventions to Address Challenges for Sustainable Buffalo Production College of Veterinary Science, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University  (GADVASU, Ludhiana) on 10th and 11th December 2021. 

Inaugural session held in the morning saw a plethora of luminaries from the profession including the Chief Guest Dr Gurbachan Singh, former Chairman of Agriculture Science Recruitment Board (ASRB),  Guest of Honour Dr S K Ranjan, Ex-Director Hind Agro Industries, Dr Inderjeet Singh, VC GADVASU, Special Guests Dr SS Dahiya, President ISBD, Dr PS Yadav, Secretary ISBD and Dr SPS Ghuman, Dean Veterinary College Ludhiana. 

Following the lighting of the lamp, the President ISBD Dr SS Dahiya addressed the audience and informed them about the activities of the ISBD and also introduced the audience to the symposium theme of Scientific Interventions to Address Challenges for Sustainable Buffalo Production.

Dr Inderjeet Singh, VC GADVASU in his speech commended the efforts of the organising committee for organising such an important symposium of National importance. He informed the house that ISBD is a unique society in the sense that it is based on a species which is  Buffalo while other societies are named after the broad speciality they represent. He also lamented on the fact that the budget allocation for the Animal Husbandry sector is very meagre in comparison to the contribution of nearly 5% in the Annual GDP of the country. He also rued the fact that no special effort is being made for the Buffalo development even though its contribution is around 50% in the total milk production of the country. 

There were various awards given at the inaugural session. The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Dr Nityanand Pathak and Dr Balbir Singh for their outstanding contribution to the Buffalo development. 

Distinguished Scientist awards were given to Dr T K Dutta, Director CIRB, Dr SS Paul and Dr SPS Ghuman. 

Prestigious Scientific team awards were given to Dr Ashok Kumar Balhera and the team from CIRB for the development of Pregnancy Diagnosing Kits for Buffalos and Dr PS Yadav and team for Cloning of the Buffalos(10 which is highest in the country).

Chief Guest Dr Gurbachan Singh in his speech stressed that there is a need for research on the impact of climate change on the emerging new diseases of the Buffalos as well as the need for the development of a proactive warning system to prevent severe damage. He also emphasised the integrated farming practices and application of the recommendation of the symposium in the real world scenario. 

Finally, the vote of thanks was given to Dr V K Dumka, Professor Dept of Pharmacology, Veterinary College Ludhiana. 

The audience is now looking forward to two days of intensive scientific deliberations with some really thought-provoking and informative lectures on sustainable Buffalo development.