A new bovine fertility technique, being implemented for the first time on a commercial basis in India, promises to turn this into a land of plentiful milk, and usher in a “second White Revolution.”

The in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) technology initiative, formally launched by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh here on Wednesday, can enhance the milk yield of high-pedigree Indian-breed cows almost five-fold –– to 10 litres per cow every day. The technology, introduced by the JK Trust in line with the Centre’s ‘Rashtriya Gokul Mission’ for upgradation of indigenous breeds of cattle, will ‘rapidly’ multiply the high-pedigree Indian-breed cow population.

“A high-pedigree cow can physically produce only a few calves in her life-time due to the long gestation period. This can be addressed through IVF technology. This can usher in the second White Revolution,” said Shyam Zavar, CEO, JK Trust. Using IVF technology, the oocytes (female eggs) from the high-pedigree cow can be extracted, developed into embryos in a laboratory by combining with semen from a bull of the same breed and injected into recipient cows, which will develop the embryos and give birth to calves.

Twenty-eight cows have so far been impregnated, with embryos developed with ova from four high-yielding indigenous breeds — Gir, Sahiwal, Tharparkar, Ongole — at JK BovaGenix’s research centre and IVF lab in Gopal Nagar. The calves are expected to be born in September.

“JK BovaGenix aims to facilitate 1,000 IVF pregnancies in the first yearm going up to 10,000 pregnancies by 2020. It is our hope that this programme will create several thousand high milk-yielding cattle and good quality bulls in the near future,” said VP Singhania, Chairman, JK Trust (run by the textiles and consumer products conglomerate JK Group). The company plans to send mobile IVF vans to villages to impregnate cows –– initially in Chhattisgarh and, later, in other States that are willing to participate.

The emphasis on local breeds goes against the grain of the experience of cross-breeding with foreign varieties, which has helped improve milk yield; but it is easily explained. “The local breed is tick-resistant and can cope better in adverse climatic conditions than foreign breeds,” said Zavar.

Moreover, milk from Indian cows falls in the ‘A2’ category, considered several Western countries as being of superior category, with healing properties; it commands a premium in markets such as Australia and New Zealand.

“It is important to promote the high-yielding domestic variety in order to prevent a situation where we have to turn to countries such as Brazil, that are successfully breeding Indian cows such as Gir, to get back our own,” said Zavar.

India has the world’s largest cattle population: 190.9 million cows and buffaloes.

The writer travelled to Chhattisgarh at the invitation of JK Trust

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