The Gujarat Legislative Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a bill making licences mandatory for the manufacture, storage and sale of livestock feed, poultry feed and mineral mixtures in the state, with penalties prescribed for substandard and adulterated feed.
Gujarat agriculture and animal husbandry minister Jitu Vaghani, who introduced the Bill, said manufacturers would have to comply with standards prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The legislation also provides for periodic testing and analysis of feed samples and prescribes requirements for packaging and labelling to prevent misleading claims and branding.
Farmers preparing feed for their own livestock and feed produced for research purposes have been kept outside the scope of the law. The government said the legislation was aimed at protecting the health of Gujarat’s livestock population, which includes more than 106 lakh buffaloes and 96 lakh cows, besides sheep, goats and poultry, and at improving milk productivity.
Vaghani said the legislation was based on the World Health Organization’s “One Health” approach and was intended to protect livestock farmers and manufacturers that complied with quality standards. He said the government would take action against businesses that compromised on feed quality. The minister said the licensing process would be online and faceless to prevent unnecessary harassment of businesses.
