Lucknow, July 12: The Yogi government is ready to conduct the Accredited Agent for Health and Extension of Livestock Production (A-HELP) program to develop livestock and rural population and increase their permanent income, which will be operated with the joint efforts of the State Rural Livelihood Mission and Animal Husbandry Department.
This program will be launched in the first week of August under the first pilot project. Initially it will be implemented in 50 development blocks of 25 districts, after which the Yogi government will implement it in the entire state. Under this, 10 thousand Pashu Sakhis will be trained in the next two years.
Deepa Ranjan, Mission Director of State Rural Livelihood Mission, said that in accordance with the intention of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, various programs are being continuously conducted across the state to increase the income of the villagers and increase the number of high quality dairy animals. Under this, the A-Help program will be conducted in 50 development blocks of 25 districts of the state under the pilot project. Its objective is to coordinate with government veterinary hospitals so that essential veterinary services such as ethno-vet practices, prevention of animal diseases, timely vaccination, deworming drugs, artificial insemination, animal insurance etc. can be made available at the village level itself.
She said that at the same time, the Yogi government aims to train 2,000 ‘Pashu Sakhis’ as A-Help agents in the current financial year. This number is expected to increase to 10 thousand agents in the next two years, which will significantly increase the reach and impact of the program.
The Mission Director said that the main objective of the A-Help program is to promote the income of ‘Pashu Sakhis’, which can increase their annual income up to Rs 60 thousand. Training of Mission staff in the districts and development blocks covered under the programme has been completed. In addition, training plans have been developed to equip the ‘Pashu Sakhis’ with the necessary skills and knowledge to enable them to perform their roles effectively. With the successful completion of the training sessions, the stage is set for the implementation of the A-HELP programme.
Director apprised that this integrated approach will not only improve livestock productivity and health, but will also empower rural communities with the knowledge and resources needed to reap maximum economic benefits from animal husbandry.
