Abstract
India is a hub of ZEBU cattle biodiversity. A prominent hump, a long face, upright horns, drooping ears , a dewlap , and slender legs characterize these indigenous ( Desi ) breeds. India has contributed richly to the improvement of cattle production in the world. Our cattle are found in 45 countries and the Sahiwal breed alone is found in 29 countries. Many of these animals contributed richly for development of breeds in various countries.
There are thirty three breeds of cattle in India in addition to large number of non-descript cattle. It is estimated that only about 18 % of the cattle in India belong to well defined breeds. The northern and western regions are home tracts for milch cattle while in southern India we have mostly draft cattle.
The govt. of India gave lot of emphasis on upgradation of Indigenous breeds with elite bulls of same breed. But the programmes never took off for various reasons. In the name of intensive milk production EXOTIC breeds were promoted indiscriminately and the local stock started degenerating.
The on-slaught of green revolution perished mixed farming which in turn resulted in acute scarcity of crop residues thus starving all the live-stock. What ever crop residues were produced were fed to crossbreds in priority.
The deforestation has snatched away all the grazing lands from these poor animals. The white revolution added further blows. All the state animal husbandry services were targeted to exotic and hybrid animals. Effectively the green revolution with monocropping and mechanization of agriculture has dealt severe blow on these animals. White revolution is totally replacing these stocks with hybrids.
At the end of the day when we see the net result, we realise that neither green revolution nor white revolution are sustainable in long run. But once damage is done, these local breeds cannot be revived.
The Krishnavalley breed of North Karnataka is gone, the Punganur of Andhra Pradesh is extinct and vechur in Kerala is no more. Many more are in queue to follow the suit.
It is high time that all concerned should use their full strength to struggle and protect these breeds. |
