The indigenous breed of cow being disease resistant and tolerant to tropical weather conditions as compared to cross-bred cow has great potential to increase the income of our farming community. This was stated by Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries while inaugurating one-day ‘ICAR-NAVS Expert Consultation Meet on Strategies for Enhancing Milk Productivity of Indigenous Cattle,’ here today. He further added, for this purpose, only the present Government has launched the Rashtriya Gokul Mission for improvement of indigenous cattle. Dr Balyan hoped that the project will yield rich pidends. He said, the Mission aims to conserve and develop indigenous breeds in a focused and scientific manner, for which breeding facilities will be set up for breeds with high genetic potential.
‘A well thought out cattle breeding policy which was in place 50 years ago which included selective breeding of indigenous milch cattle breeds in their breeding tracts and to use them for upgrading local cattle. However, the policy was not followed in letter and spirit and indiscriminate crossbreeding was done which has resulted in erosion and dilution of our rich germplasm of high yielding indigenous milch breeds,’ said Dr Balyan. On the occasion, the Honorary Fellowship of National Academy of Veterinary Sciences was conferred on Dr Balyan by President of the Academy. Dr Balyan has contributed significantly in the area of agriculture sector in general and livestock in particular. He has been incessantly working for the cause of conservation of Indigenous breeds of livestock which he feels are the treasure of our country.
One-day interactive Consultation Meet of experts and other stakeholders was jointly organized by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) through National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR), Karnal; Central Institute for Research on Cattle (CIRC), Meerut and National Academy of Veterinary Sciences (NAVS). Shri A.S. Thakur, Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries, Government of India, in his address, briefed on various initiatives taken by the Government for improvement of milk productivity and conservation of indigenous cattle germplasm.