Fodder bank likely to be set up in Maharashtra to feed cattle

CHANDRAPUR (Maharashtra): A ' fodder bank' to feed cattle is likely to be set up in the country, said Member of Parliament Hansraj Ahir here on Monday.

He said that he had written to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on August 8, urging him to create 'fodder bank' in every state of the country in coordination with the forest departments under the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

Sharad Pawar, in his reply dated September 3, has informed that the idea of utilising natural resources for cattle feed has already been mooted and the issue has been taken up with MoEF, he said.

"Fodder scarcity in our country often results in cattle meeting their end in slaughter houses while grass and shrubs that grow abundantly in forests goes unnoticed or wasted. Only a negligible quantity is utilised for grazing and the rest goes waste. Hence the idea of creating a fodder bank in our country," he said.

The agriculture department in each of the state, in association with the forest department would open fodder banks for collection, storage and distribution of fodder to cattle, in the near future, he said.