Introduction to Cattle & Buffalo Breeding
Cattle and buffalo contribute nearly 15 percent of the gross national income. In value, the milk industry accounts for more than Rs 100,000 million annually. The country possesses 23 percent of the world’s bovine population, yet the milk production which is estimated at 42.3 million tonnes per annum is only 8 per cent of the world’s milk production.
The land holdings are small and thus mechanization is not possible. Out of the total geographic area, hardly 45 per cent is cultivated and of this, nearly 50 per cent is in arid, semi-arid regions. In the latter region, livestock form a major source of sustenance of the farming community.
The cattle not only produce milk, but as stated carlier, they contribute to the draft power for tillage, cartage and other operations. A draft equivalent of 47,000 mega-watts is produced by 71.5 million working bullocks and 7.5 million working buffalo bullocks. The value of draft contribution itself is sizeable and is estimated to be higher than the railway goods transport system. This is not accounted for properly when we estimate the contribution of cattle and buffalo in our agricultural economy.
Though the cattle population is quite large, i.e. around 184 million, the number of milch cows is only 56 million with an average production of 187 kg per annum. The buffalo po: ulation is 62 million, of which 34 million are milch buffaloes with an verage production of 1,000 kg per anum. A large number of projects have been initiated since independence for cattle improvement. The indigenous breeds of cattle have been bred with the semen of well-defined breeds of cattle or exotic bulls or semen of temperate dairy breeds of cattle. The crossbred population of European breeds of cattle is estimated at 10 million. Of these around 3.8 million are milch cattle producing an average of 1,600 kg of milk per annum. Around 18 per cent of the total stock of cattle and buffaloes can be considered as belonging to well-defined breeds and 82 per cent of them could be classified as nondescript or graded animals. Various programmes for enhancing milk production since independence have improved the availability of per caput milk which is presently 154 g as against the recommended allowance of 280 g by the Nutritional Advisory Committee of ICMR.
As a result of various dairy development programmes the country is having presently 233 process plants and 46 milk products factories. The co-operative public sector plants and organized private plants have an estimated handling capacity of 8.65 million litres per day. The processing capacity has increased from 10,700 tonnes of milk in 1950-51 to 477,000 tonnes in 1983-84. Various cattle improvement projects have been started in 600 community blocks. The country has now 122 intensive cattle development programmes (ICDP), 140 cattle breeding farms, 40 exotic cattle farms and 48 frozen semen banks in operation. These activities have resulted in enhancing the milk production by 494.11 per cent in the past 3 decades, although the increase in breedable cows and buffaloes is just 22-23 per cent during the same period.
Through a network of over 42,000 milk producers’ co-operatives organized under the Operation Flood (OF) programme, a National Milch Grid has been successfully established. This grid covers besides the 4 metropolitan cities, nearly 200 cities and towns. The OF programme itself mobilises collection of 5.53 million litres per day from the farmers’ co-operatives.
Besides milk and draft power, cattle and buffalo contribute towards organic manure in a substantial manner. Of the 800 m tonnes (dry) produced annually, nearly 300 m tonnes is unfortunately burnt as fuel. The fallen and slaughtered cattle and buffalo also contribute hides and skins, bones, hooves etc. Meat production from cattle and buffalo is 0.08 and 0.13 m tonnes per annum. There is scope to increase meat contribution from buffaloes to nearly 1 million tonnes. The hides and skins from cattle and buffalo are estimated at 0.82 million tonnes annually.
There is a great shortage of nutrients to our livestock. Presently the gap is about 44 per cent. Even if the existing cattle are given adequate nutrients in terms of green and dry fodder and concentrates, the milk production could be increased by over 40-50 per cent, especially from the animals whose yields are more than 4 to 5 kg per day. The cultivable area under forage crops is only 4.34 per cent, and the cattle sustain themselves mainly on the byproducts of cereals and millets as roughages and mostly other human food chain byproducts as concentrates.