Program Interventions

Livestock Development

Over 1.5 million cows and buffaloes mostly owned by small farmers are bred annually and over 250,000 female calves are born every year. The crossbreds come into milk production at an average age of 3 years and yield about 2200-3000 kg milk/lactation. The crossbred males are ready for village operations and transportation, at the age of 24 to 30 months.The performance of the cattle development programme operated by BAIF has made a significant impact in the field.

So far, 5.4 million conceptions have been recorded and 0.65 million cows and buffaloes are under milk production, contributing milk worth Rs. 1800 crores (US$ 375 million) per annum.

BAIF is maintaining an elite herd of Jersey and Holstein Friesian breeds at the Central Research Station, Urulikanchan to produce superior bulls for semen collection. With a view to conserve native breeds, Gir, Amritmahal, Hallikar, Sahiwal, Khillar, Tharparkar, Krishna Valley, Ongole and Dangi breeds of cattle, Surti, Murrah and Jafrabadi breeds of buffaloes and bucks of Sirohi, Osmanabadi, Jamnapari and Barbari goats are also maintained. The Semen Freezing Laboratory with ISO 9002 certification produces over 4.5 million doses of frozen semen annually. Embryo Transfer Technology for production of elite bulls and genetic conservation of indigenous breeds is the unique feature of this laboratory.

With a view to boost the income of landless and small farmers, particularly women who are depending on goat husbandry, best practices of breeding and feeding have been evolved in a pilot project launched in West Bengal. Looking to the success, this programme is being replicated in other states.

Research on non-conventional forage and feeds has been undertaken and relevant technologies are being disseminated in the field to improve the profitability of dairy farming. Forage production is being promoted through selection and breeding of suitable varieties and seed multiplication.

MITTRA Livestock Development Program: Achievements

No	Project Name	No. of CDCs	Artificial Insemination	Confirmed Pregnancies	Heifer born
1	Milk and sugar cooperatives	32	85586	42267	19274
2	Farmer supported	7	32006	14389	6561
3	Sponsored Projects	140	58189	26107	11905
	Total	179	175781	82763	37740