Pawar calls for investment in animal production

Mumbai, May 27 : Citing the need for encouraging investment in the art and science of animal production, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today said there has been no instance of suicides among farmers who have supplementary income from cows and buffaloes in critical times of crop failure.

Inaugurating the four-day national convention and symposium on 'Buffalo for rural upliftment' here, Mr Pawar said although genetic improvement in dairy animals, including buffalo, has been the focus of breeding policy since the last 50 years, hardly any progress in animal productivity through genetic intervention has been achieved.

The major constraints have been shortage of progeny-tested breeding bulls for semen production and absence of required infrastructure for performance recording and sire evolution. There is enough evidence available that countries that have set up such systems could develop their dairy breeds, improve fertility and productivity substantially to render dairying profitable to their farmers, he added.

Mr Pawar noted that buffaloes have poor reproductive performance, specially - delayed puberty, higher age of first calving, seasonality of breeding and long inter-calving periods. Most of the problems associated with poor reproductive performance are due to nutritional and managemental factors. The problems related to nutrition and physical environment need to be studied further in relation to reproduction, so that a package of economically feasible and socially acceptable management practices for improviing reproduction in buffaloes is developed.

He also felt that greater attention to the diseases of buffaloes and development of suitable diagnostics is required.

There is a need to make the buffalo farmers realise that if the buffaloes are allowed to atleast leave some male and female progenies before they are sent to large cities for milk production and ultimate slaughter, there will be lesser genetic wastage, he said.

There is an urgent need to develop policy in conserving the elite buffaloes in their native tracts, he added.

Mr Pawar said the dairy industry in India till now invested only in technology to modernise milk collection and process engineering areas, whereas little has been done to improve and invest in the art and science of animal production. This needs to be changed, as unless a buffalo that is giving milk is healthy and substantially productive, the farmers will not make any profit and the quality of milk will be low in spite of huge investment in the higher chains, such as bulk coolers, tankers and processing plants, he said.

Mr Pawar said he has been a strong proponent of cows and earlier felt that buffaloes had low potential. ''My perception has undergone a sea change and I have realised that buffalo is not only a pride of the country, but also the future animal of the farmers and deserves special attention by researchers and planners.'' He said buffalo contributes substantially to milk production, food security and rural employment in the country, dairying activity support for small and marginal farmers as well as landless labour in times of crisis like crop failure.

In critical times of crop failure, it is these one or two cows and buffaloes that pull a farmer's family out of crisis and cycle of debt.

He said, Italy has emerged as a leader in buffalo research and development and their scientists are providing consultancy world over. Recently, it has signed an agreement to provide technical assistance to improve productivity in Chinese buffaloes. He said countries like Brazil and Italy refer to the buffalo as the 'black gold'.

Madhya Pradesh Governor Balram Jakhar, who is the president of Indian Society of Buffalo Research was also present on the occasion along with Maharashtra Animal Husbandry Minister Anees Ahmed.

Veterinary scientists V K Taneja and K Jankiraman were honoured by the society for their contribution to animal science.

UNI