September 29, 2022

IVF a new asset for boosting India's indigenous cattle population for milk output

The Pune Agricultural College in Pune, India has used IVF to successfully birth calves of the Sahiwal and Gir indigenous breeds that can be used to boost milk production for small farmers, Hindustan Times reported.

The Maharashtra and federal governments will now support indigenous cattle for milk production even though crossbred cattle are known to produce more milk. This is because indigenous cattle can adapt to the local environment much more readily than crossbred cattle can.

The state government has decided to use the ovum pick-up and in-vitro fertilisation (OPU-IVF) technique to increase the population of milk-producing indigenous cattle because there aren't as many of these livestock.

Dr Somnath Mane, the project coordinator at the Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth's indigenous cattle research and training centre, said Gir, Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Tharparkar, and Khillar are indigenous breeds well-known for their milk.

He said in order to increase small farmers' income and provide the public with high-quality milk, they must promote these breeds.

He also said the IVF method will be beneficial for increasing the number of native cattle for milk production. As cow populations rise, the IVF procedure will become more affordable and farmers will be able to use it for very little money.

Dr Mane said instead of restricting this method to higher education, we are conducting an experiment with 150 farmers, adding that they are hoping that this will make the method more well-known.

He said farmers currently are being drawn to indigenous cattle rearing on a large scale due to the various characteristics of indigenous cattle and the increased demand for milk, dairy products, cow urine, and cow dung. IVF must be used to increase the population of indigenous cattle.

Indigenous cattle can endure in various conditions. Indigenous cattle, which make up 10% of all indigenous animals used for milk production, are primarily found in north India. The native breeds of Maharashtra, including the Konkan Kapila, Khillar, Dangi, Lalkandhari, and Devani, are well known for their draught, which lowers their milk production.

-      Hindustan Times