NDDB experts advocate a smoother 'milky' way

Ask state to increase the number of cows

Buffaloes are fast outnumbering the cows and that's getting the experts a little worried.

Experts of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) have advocated that emergent measures should be taken to increase the number of cows in Andhra Pradesh to prevent the state from facing short supply of milk during lean seasons, particularly summer.

According to their findings, while the number of buffaloes has been on the rise in AP over the years, the number of cows has remained static or is decreasing.

Though buffaloes contribute 75 per cent of the milk production, their milk yields crash during lean seasons, thereby affecting the availability. Cows give milk throughout the year, hence the need to increase their number, they suggest.

NDDB state director S Srinivas, in an interview with Business Standard, said, "Another major problem that needs immediate attention is that in AP, contrary to the trend, there is only a marginal increase in the milk productivity of crossbreed cattle and graded buffaloes. This may be due to lack of resources, and unavailability of quality and reliable feed inputs."

He said the percentage of cows and buffaloes which underwent artificial insemination (AI) in AP was only 11. The NDDB, with an aim to achieve a breakthrough on this front, started Indiagen firm in Hyderabad. A campaign to create awareness among farmers on AI would be intensified, he said.

"Yet another problem is that the acreage under cereal crops has dwindled, leading to a decrease in fodder production," he said.

"The land under fodder cultivation is unlikely to increase in the coming years. The need of the hour is to improve yields of the fodder crops such as pillipesara, sunhemp, jowar and hybrid napier, which have already been adopted by the farmers. We will also explore ways to increase green fodder production by promoting commercial fodder farms; utilising field bunds, and improving village common property resources."

Srinivas said Andhra Pradesh, the fourth largest milk producing state, pooled up 6.98 million tonne of milk during 2003-04. The livestock sector contributed about 25 per cent of agricultural production in the state, of which 60 per cent came from cattle and buffaloes.

"Dairy production has become a major source of income and livelihood for the rural folk, particularly women. The sector is growing at a rate of 6.4 per cent per year. The per capita availability of milk in AP, which in 1990-91 was 121 gm, has now increased to 238 gm as against the national average of 231 gm. As the population increase had been pegged at 1.2 per cent during 1990-91, the state witnessed a high growth of 5.1 per cent in per capita availability of milk."

The use of crop residue too needs to be improved. "It's time new breeding policies were developed keeping in view the emerging dynamics of population, milk production requirements and development of indigenous cattle and buffalo breeds," he said.

NDDB recently conducted a workshop on 'Dairy production in Andhra Pradesh "� Challenges and Opportunities' here. The workshop discussed the published and unpublished sources of last-one-and-a-half-decade on dairy animal population, production, resources, development, programmes, policies and economics.