15 Dec 2020
Training for farmers and veterinarians
A three-day workshop and on-farm trainings on Animal Identification and Registration (AI&R) and Animal Welfare for veterinarians and farmers were held in the Lori region on 15-17 December 2020 in the frames of the "Holding Animal Identification and Registration (HAI&R)" project, funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA). More than 35 veterinarians and farmers from 7 communities participated in this workshop.
During the first day, 8 professionals of their fields, representing CARD Foundation AI&R Project, “Kultiva” CJSC and National Association of Veterinarians presented topics about “AI&R”, “Disease Control and Prevention”, “Smart Farms”, “Hygiene and Milking”, “Cow Comfort and Feeding”, “Cattle Breeding Technologies” and “Pig Genetics”.
Farm visits were held during the second and third days of the workshop. During the farm visits, the current state and needs of local farms were measured and the farmers were interviewed. In addition, on-site trainings were held. Farm visits and the research aimed at the identification of opportunities for AI&R project implementation and animal welfare conditions improvement․
Local veterinarians and farmers, who participated in the workshop, were proactive and interested in current news and innovations in their areas of activity. The lecturers fulfilled their interest in knowledge and updated them on current news and innovations around the globe during face-to-face and group discussions.
As a potential way of assistance, the following options are being discussed to identify the most productive ones, which will assist the farmers and communities in development and capacity building by:
- Organizing follow up trainings for farmers regarding modern farming technics, such as cattle breeding, dairy production, feeding and housing.
- Organizing visits to already existing smart farms․
- Introducing Artificial Insemination into the communities by organizing trainings for veterinarians, providing A.I. equipment, demonstration of artificial insemination with controlled herd, etc...
- Assistance in dairy production through demonstration of milking parlors, increase of milk collection opportunities, providing quality control equipment and machine milking units.
- Assistance in increasing sale, branding and farm income․
- Assistance on using solar energy to minimalize the cost of production.