CHITWAN, Oct 28: The International Poultry Symposium kicked off in Chitwan today. "Meeting poultry demand for food safety and security is the theme of the vent organised jointly by the Agriculture and the Faculty of Forest University and Animal Science, Veterinary and Fishery , Rampur. 

In the gathering supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, University of Michigan, Food and Agriculture Organisation , Heifer International and the University Grants Commission, over 300 animal scientists from nine countries are taking part. 

Symposium main organising committee chair and AFU Dean Prof Dr Sharada Thapaliya said the event would see the presentations of a total 115 research-based papers on the policy and social economic status related to poultry production, poultry nutrition, health management, heredity, reproduction management, biological technology, and integrated and rural poultry farming, among others. 

Experts from various universities in Nepal, India, Japan, Australia, Germany, Bangladesh, America, Bhutan, and Egypt and poultry experts, professional poultry farmers and representatives from related organisations are participating in the seminar. Indian Poultry Science Association's vice president Prof Dr Deben Sapkota; Japanese Poultry Science Association's vice president Dr Naoki Goto, and Poultry Research Foundation Australia's director Peter Groves are among the participants of the three-day symposium. 

Some other foreign guests including a representative from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Sunil Chandra Giri, are on the way to attend the symposium. 

Inaugurating the programme, Province 3 Chief Minister Dormani Poudel expressed hope that the symposium would be successful in finding ways for increasing poultry productions at lower cost. He pledged all possible support from the government level to promote poultry farming in the province. 

Poultry farming has some four percent contribution to the country's Nepal's total gross domestic product and about eight percent contribution to the total agriculture gross product and some 150 thousand people have been directly and indirectly employed in this sector, according to the Chief Minister. 

On the occasion, AFU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Ishwari Prasad Dhakal said Nepal is self reliant on poultry production and the event would help further promote the poultry business at home. Of the country's total poultry production, over 50 percent takes place in Chitwan alone. 

National Planning Commission member Usha Jha, Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development Prakash Mathema, Dr Hom Bahadur Basnet, and AFU Registrar Manaraj Kolachhapati put their views on the occasion. RSS

 
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