Desi Cow Meets Brazilian Bull

It is ghar wapsi in a frozen form. The Indian government's move to import 40,000 doses of purebred Gir bull semen from Brazil to artificially inseminate Gir cows in Gujarat is being seen as a game-changer.

- Jumana Shah

The South American country had imported the Gir cow, famed for its high yield of milk, from as early as 1870. Now, the genetic return gift will also be offered to states where Gir cows are found, including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. It is hoped that the Brazilian Gir bull semen will lead to a progeny of Gir cows with milk productivity 5-8 times higher than usual. Gir cow populations have dwindled in recent decades in India, so this is also being seen as a way to bolster the population in its native land. Part of the Genetic Improvement Programme under the Union government's Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), the Rs 6 crore initiative is being executed by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

"These semen straws are from four bulls in Brazil that are 'top performing. Highly rated Gir cows here will be inseminated with them and their progeny should be super performers," says an official from Gujarat's animal husbandry department. According to experts, the venture, if successful, could increase the average milk production of Gir cows to 20-30 litres per day over the next decade or so. Top performers' could even scale 60-70 litres a day, it is hoped. The semen straws have been bought from a private dairy farmer and certified by the government of Brazil. Though it has taken two years for the project to fructify, the DAHD will soon issue another global tender for the import of 250,000 semen straws of Gir bulls, of which 200,000 will be conventional semen and 50,000 sex-sorted semen [where the gender of the offspring is pre-selected].