Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has approved registration of record 15 new breeds of livestock and poultry this year alone taking the total to 40 during 2014-18, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Radha Mohan Singh at a ceremony for awarding breed registration certificates to the stakeholders today said that the 15 newly registered breeds include two cattle breeds - Ladakhi (J&K) and Konkan Kapila (Maharashtra & Goa); three buffalo breeds - Luit (Assam & Manipur), Bargur (Tamil Nadu), Chhattisgarhi (Chhattisgarh); one sheep breed – Panchali (Gujarat); six goat breeds – Kahmi (Gujarat), Rohilkhandi (UP), Assam Hill (Assam & Meghalaya), Bidri (Karnataka), Nandidurga (Karnataka), Bhakarwali (J&K); one pig breed – Ghurrah (UP); one donkey breed – Halari (Gujarat) and one chicken breed – Uttara (Uttarakhand).The Minister further said that these native breeds are renowned for heat tolerance, disease resistance and thriving on low input system.
The process of identification of animal breeds and their documentation is not only important in providing value to the ingenious animal breeds and introducing various development programs of the government for their improvement but also plays a special role in preserving the biodiversity of the country. We have about 15% of total cattle, 57% of total buffalo, 17% of goat, 7% of sheep and 4.5% of chicken of the world. There is still the possibility of many populations in pure form in the remote areas which need to be assessed for registration as breeds in the coming years.He said that other than recognition of new breeds; the improvement, protection and conservation of existing breeds are equally important. Keeping this in mind, a number of measures have been taken to protect native breeds. In Rashtriya Gokul Mission, more than Rs 2000 crore has been allocated for the improvement and conservation of our indigenous breeds.Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Purushottam Rupala, Smt. Krishna Raj and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat were also present on this occasion.