Artificial insemination likely to boost piggeries

The piggery sector in parts of peninsular India is likely to receive a much needed boost. A two-day national level workshop was held recently at the ICAR-Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR-CCARI), Old Goa campus to train veterinary professionals in artificial insemination (AI) of pigs. 12 professionals from eight states — Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh participated in the training led by Dr Eknath B Chakurkar, principal scientist, animal reproduction, ICAR-CCARI. Participants were trained in aspects including semen collection, evaluation and artificial insemination in pigs in the programme sponsored by dept of biotechnology (DBT), government of India.