THENI: The cattle farmers in the district are in distress as the Central government’s National Animal Disease Control Programme (NACDP) is delaying the supply of the vaccine for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) to the state.

Sources said it was in February this year that the vaccine was last despatched to the state, and all cattle were administered vaccine within March. The vaccine is administered to the cattle (cows, buffalos and bulls) twice a year by the department of animal husbandry and veterinary sciences free of cost.

Though the next dose of vaccine is supposed to be received in September and the livestock to be vaccinated before October, the state has not received it yet from NACDP. The cattle farmers are left with no coice but to spend from their own pockets to vaccinate the animals.

During the monthly agricultural grievance meeting, cattle breeders have urged the district administration to administer the FMD vaccine soon. Speaking to TNIE, S Pandi, a cattle breeder and farmer from Periyakulam said FMD can lead to serious production loss in cattle and is a major constraint to international trade in livestock and livestock products. “Due to unavailability of the vaccine, the farmers are forced to purchase it by spending Rs 1,000 per cattle,” he said.

General Secretary of Tamil Nadu Cattle Breeders Association Sathiyam C Saravanan, said despite requests, the department of animal husbandry did not send vaccines on time. He attributed the reason for not reporting any FMD outbreak in the state to cattle breeders purchasing the vaccine by spending from their own pockets. “Each district has an average of 1 lakh livestock,” he said.

Meanwhile, farmers in Coimbatore district said the authorities have not administered the vaccine to the cattle after 2019. They attributed the lumpy skin disease among the cattle in recent days to non-vaccination.

When contacted, Joint Director of District Animal Husbandry Department, R Perumalsamy, said, “Earlier the state government used to purchase the medicine and supply it to the department. Now the Central government has taken up the responsibility of supplying the medicine. We are waiting for the medicine to be supplied. We expect it will be delivered this month.”

Joint Director of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Department in Theni, Dr S Subbiah Pandian, said the manufacture of FMD vaccine was stopped during the Covid-19 time. “That’s why the department is not able to administer the vaccine on time. If the cattle breeders buy the vaccine, doctors at the government veterinary hospital will administer it to the livestock,” he added.

(With inputs from M Saravanan @ Coimbatore & N Nacchinarkkiniyan @ Tiruchy)