The buffalo is an amazing animal and has been variously described as a “milk machine” and “black gold”. However, none of these epithets fully captures the advantages this versatile animal has as a producer of milk; a provider of good quality meat and draught power for farm operations; a means of transportation and a source of other valuable products, such as hide (leather), hoofs and horns. The buffalo is a far more efficient converter of fibrous fodder and feed into milk and meat than other cattle. Moreover, buffaloes grow faster than cows under the same feeding and rearing conditions.
However, regardless of all this, the buffalo remains a rather neglected animal, with greater emphasis on other cattle in the dairy development programmes. Products from buffaloes, including the chief ones like the milk and meat, have not been promoted abroad despite the several advantages that they offer over the milk and meat produced from other cattle.
The importance of the buffalo in the country’s dairy sector, which has made India the world’s largest milk producer, is reflected in the fact that buffalo milk accounts for more than half (56 per cent, to be precise) of the total milk output, though its population is roughly about half that of other cattle and a little over one-third of all bovine (milk-producing) animals.
What makes the buffalo even more significant is the quality of its milk, is far superior than that of other cattle. Buffalo milk contains nearly 25 per cent more protein, 92 per cent more calcium, 38 per cent more iron and 117 per cent more phosphorus than cow milk. More important, buffalo milk’s cholesterol content is 50 per cent lower than that of cow milk. Besides, all these qualities, another factor that helps buffalo milk fetch relatively higher prices in the market is its fat content which, at an average 7.5 per cent, is almost double that of cow milk.
Similarly, buffalo meat matches beef (cattle meat) in most respects and scores over it in some. On the upside, it has lower intramuscular fat, cholesterol and calorie content (for health-conscious people); higher content of essential amino acids (proteins) and iron; and relatively higher total biological value compared to that of beef. As such, it is excellent for making a number of meat products, especially smoked and cured products, besides traditional meat preparations.
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But, on the downside, it has a lower dressing percentage — total quantity of edible meat obtained from the slaughtered animals is about 3 per cent lower compared to cattle meat. This is attributed largely to its thicker hide and darker meat because of lower intramuscular fat content. This, needlessly, gives the impression of it being red meat, which should be avoided.
The relatively lower consumer acceptance of buffalo meat due to this false notion reduces its market value. It also serves as a disincentive even for rearing male buffalo calves as broilers for meat production, which and are commonly neglected and allowed to die. Chiefly, female buffaloes are sent to the abattoirs once their productive life begins to wane.
Many of these interesting revelations have been made in the papers presented at the International Buffalo Conference on “optimising buffalo productivity through conventional and novel technologies” held in New Delhi last week. The meet was part of the silver jubilee commemorations of the Hissar (Haryana)-based Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes.
According to the experts attending the conference, genetic improvement of the non-descript buffaloes through scientific breeding approaches is one of the ways to raise the milk yield of these animals. The Indian sub-continent is home to some of the world’s best breeds of the buffalo. But the availability of elite buffalo bulls is limited. The system of artificial insemination through preserved semen of good quality buffalo bulls, therefore, needs to be promoted on the same lines as was done for cattle under “Operation Flood”.
It is also required that the establishment of exclusively buffalo-based dairy farms in the organised sector is promoted. At present, buffalo milk is produced predominantly by individuals owning one or more buffaloes. They find it difficult to market their produce. As a result, buffalo milk is usually mixed with cows milk and sold through common marketing channels.
Since much of the milk surplus in India will consist of buffalo milk in the future, there is a need for developing a niche market for buffalo milk and its products at the global level. Perhaps, an exclusive Indian brand for buffalo milk and its products can also be created and promoted globally.