Technologies of ICAR-DPR were certified during the 96th Foundation and Technology Day of ICAR
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) celebrated its 96th Foundation Day on 16th July 2024 in New Delhi. Shri. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare & Rural Development and President of ICAR Society graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Dr. R. N. Chatterjee, Director, ICAR-DPR along with Dr. A. Kannan, Pr. Scientist and lead developer received the award and certificate from the Hon'ble Union Agriculture Minister for the development of a “Protocol for the production of iron enriched designer eggs”.
Shri. Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri. Bhagirath Choudhary, Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri. Ram Nath Thakur, Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel, Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying and Panchayati Raj, Shri. George Kurian, Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, and Minority Affairs and Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Secretary (DARE) and Director General (ICAR) graced the occasion.
Low iron content and poor bioavailability in foods are the leading causes of iron deficiency anaemia in developing countries. By conducting a series of experiments, a protocol for the production of iron enriched eggs by nutritional approach was developed. White leghorn females were fed with the specialised mineral supplement continuously to get the iron enriched eggs. After 2 weeks of feeding, the iron content in the egg starts increasing and after 5-6 weeks of feeding a peak level of egg iron enrichment will be attained. By using the protocol, the egg iron content can be increased from ~1.8 mg/100g to ~2.8 mg/100 g egg. The enriched eggs produced using the protocol are stable and are also free from any odour.
A protocol on “Methods to cryopreserve chicken semen” developed by Dr. Shanmugam M and Dr. R.K. Mahapatra was also certified during the occasion.
