Bhubaneswar: Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Minister Arun Kumar Sahoo launched Wednesday the ‘Sex Sorted Semen’ under the artificial insemination programme aimed at advancing the dairy development in Odisha. In an event organised at Krushi Bhavan here, the minister stated that ‘sex sorted semen’ technology would enhance milk production in Odisha through the production of around 90 per cent female calves.
Bovine breeding over the past two decades has played a key role in boosting farmers’ income in Odisha. The Odisha government has taken a number of measures for the development of livestock farmers, and dairy development has been identified as an engine of growth for farmers, women self-help groups and entrepreneurs.
Milk production in Odisha has increased around threefold during the last two decades. It increased from 8.75 lakh metric tonne in 2000 to over 23.731akh metric tonne in 2021.
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Genetic improvement of breed through artificial insemination is taken up in a mission mode. Currently, around 15 lakh cows are being inseminated annually, free of cost. In order to control foot and mouth disease in cattle, the immunisation of livestock population is being taken up as a campaign, twice a year.
Fodder cultivation is encouraged through the promotion of high yielding species of annual and perennial fodder species. Under the ‘Mukhyamantree Krushi Udyog Yojana’, a subsidy of up to Rs 50 lakh is being provided to farmers and entrepreneurs to set up new dairy units and milk processing plants. Over 2.63 lakh farmers of the state are now able to sell their milk to Odisha State Cooperative Milk Producers Federation (OMFED) through 3,700 milk producers’ cooperative societies.
The Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Department is focusing on cattle breed improvement programmes to increase milk production with the use of semen of high genetic potential bulls. While using normal unsexed semen, the male to female calves born is of the ratio of 50:50.
0ver the years, there has been less demand for male calves, and farmers leave them to stray, causing increase in stray cattle population. Sex-sorted semen technology will ensure up to 90 per cent chance of production of female calves with high genetic merit along with the reduction of male progeny, thereby reducing the burden of farmers to manage male bull calves.