Livestockers warn Sindh losing local milch breeds to greed

HYDERABAD: Livestock farmers believe Sindh province is losing local milch breeds due to substandard crossbreeding and non-implementation of Sindh Livestock Breeding Act, 2016, promulgated to conserve indigenous stocks and improve milk productivity.

This concern was raised by the livestockers at the inauguration ceremony of “National Center for Livestock Breeding, Genetics and Genomics sub-center” (NCLBGC) at Department of Animal Reproduction, Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) Tandojam.

The event attracted leading livestock farmers, academia and researchers, who emphasised the need of strengthening collaboration at national level to promote local breeds and improve milk productivity at their traditional habitats.

“I am not sure we have satisfactorily available population of local breeds at its original habitats,” said Ghulam Akbar Dars, a leading farmer from Tharparkar district.

For instance, he said, the provincial government had established famous Nabisar Cattle Farm in Tharparkar district in 1980, aiming to promote local Thari breed of cows and improve their productivity.

Initially, he said each cow used to give 22-24 liters twice a day. “But after 40 years the status of the same farm has changed as the local breeds have neither remained purebred, nor do they have the same productivity.”

He said presently the same cows were hardly able to give two liters twice daily.

“I have the same Thari breeds among other breeds for the last 27 years. I maintain its originality and receive 20-22 liters milk twice daily. This is because we avoid crossbreeding to protect the animal’s originality.”

Dars said crossbreeding mechanism was now common, and it had impacted the originality of the breeds in Sindh badly.

“Livestock department officials prefer to impart trainings to veterinarians and students about breeding, farm management, feed and cure of animals, which is good, but they also need to train farmers at their fields and farms to improve their animals productivity.”

According to farmers, buffaloes are the major milk producing animals in the country, providing 62 percent of total milk. Among buffaloes, Kundhi breed is found throughout Sindh province, particularly on both sides of the river Indus.

This is the best breed in terms of milk productivity. Despite its importance in terms of productivity, this breed seems neglected.

The News learnt that cattle farm managers sell calves of Kundhi buffalos to slaughterhouse in urban areas within a few days of their birth. Similarly they also sell buffalos after they have dried, a practice tantamount to elimination of an important milking breed.

It is happening despite the tall claims by the government authorities to conserve local breeds.

Besides, Kundhi buffalo breed there are Tharparkar, Kankrej and Red Sindhi cows, Kamori, Pateri, Tapri, Bari, Jattan, and Tharki goats and Kachhi and Kooka sheep, which are surviving in their habitats despite depletion of green pastures and shrinking rangelands.

Dr Parshotham Khatri, NCLBG project director, in his presentation confirmed that the most recognised breeds of livestock population were facing a great threat due to lack of enforcement of proper breeding policy, inadequate number of breeding males, crossbreeding, and intermixing.

“There is a great need to conserve the indigenous breeds for their unique characteristics in their home tracts in Sindh.”

Sharing objectives of the project, he claimed to have preserved and conserved the superior germplasm of Kundhi breed in Sindh through this initiative.

He said they wanted to improve the productivity of livestock through selective breeding/insemination of superior germplasm.

“We will make efforts for documentation and data recording of Kundhi buffalo for evaluating the potential of this breed, the genotyping and purchasing of young calves.”

Expected outcomes of this new project included establishment of baseline mechanism for selection of local breeds through DNA technology, Dr Khatri said.

“We will be able to preserve and conserve superior germplasm of selected outstanding Kundhi buffalo breed in Sindh for proper dissemination throughout the country,” he said.

Dr Qamar-uz-Zaman, vice chancellor of Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, said the main problem was unavailability of trained and qualified manpower in the country.

Quoting foreign research studies, he said they foresaw 20 years ahead before conducting new research.

“Agriculture and livestock are integrated parts of our economy and we have to initiate new researches and transfer the knowledge to field workers, farmers, and herders so they may get benefit.”

For bridging gap, he stressed the need for more collaboration among all universities and institutes to transfer knowledge to each other in the national interest.

Dr Fatah Mari, vice chancellor SAU, in his concluding remarks said huge investment was must for new research in both the sectors, agriculture and livestock, which provided livelihood to the most of the population in rural areas.

“We should keep in mind that the research must benefit agriculture and livestock farmers so we may see the real change,” Dr Mari said.