NEW DELHI: In a move that may improve the efficiency of dairy farming and tackle the problem of stray cattle in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will, during his Maharashtra visit on Saturday, launch a Unified Genomic Chip for cattle and an indigenous sex-sorted semen production technology to help farmers multiply high-quality bulls and milch cattle.
During this trip, Modi will also release the 18th instalment of financial assistance under the PM-Kisan scheme to over 9.4 crore farmers across the country, amounting to more than Rs 20,000 crore.
Tailored for Indian breeds, the Unified Genomic Chip – the ‘Gau Chip’ for cattle and ‘Mahish Chip’ for buffalo – will enable farmers to make informed decisions on animal selection by identifying young and high-quality bulls at an early age. On the other hand, the indigenous sex-sorted technology will increase the availability of sex-sorted semen for farmers at a reduced cost for producing only female calves.
“Though India has been using sex-sorted technology for producing female calves for a long time, the high cost of imported production technology at Rs 1,000 per dose deters dairy farmers from opting for it, as sometimes animals need multiple doses. The use of indigenous technology will, however, now reduce its cost to Rs 200 per dose,” said an official in the department of animal husbandry and dairying (DAHD).
He said, “The indigenous technology combined with the Unified Genomic Chip for selecting high-quality and disease-free bulls will not only make the entire effort economically viable for farmers but also substantially reduce the number of non-productive animals who end up as stray on roads and farmlands.”
With affordable sex-sorted semen production technology in hand, the DAHD has now planned to produce a minimum of 10 lakh sexed semen doses annually for the ongoing artificial insemination (AI) programme. The IVF technology (commonly known as test tube baby technology) is also being used for this purpose.
The sex-sorted semen ensures the birth of only female calves with more than 90% accuracy, whereas the IVF technology makes the process faster. “Sexed semen of high-grade merit bulls of indigenous breeds will cut short the period of producing desired milch cattle and buffalo. The Unified Genomic Chip will help the process,” said the official.
Launched in February 2019, the PM-Kisan scheme provides Rs 6,000 annually to each landholding farmer family in the country. It is given to them in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each. With the 18th instalment release, the total disbursement under the scheme will exceed Rs 3.45 lakh crore, supporting more than 11 crore farmer families.