The Integrated livestock Development Programme (IlDP), an initiative by the JK Trust Gram Vikash Yojana for producing crossbreed milch cows, has come as livelihood support to the 2,600 households in two drought-hit panchayats of the Kalahandi district, Gurjung and Borda.
“Presently, milk yield per cow in the two panhayats is below two litres. But, we expect it will go up to 8 to10 litres when the cross-breed cows and buffaloes start breeding in coming two years” says Sapan Ranjan Dash of the trust. Dash also heads the IlDP in the district. Majority of the 8000-odd villagers of the two GPs are small and marginal farmers. They take up cow rearing as an allied activity which brings additional income to the families.
Dash said the trust has decided to continue to perform artificial insemination (AI) in all the cows and buffaloes of breedable age in these two Panchayats in next 5 years. “Considering the achievement of the AI between August 2012 and February 2013, we expect to achieve the target of producing good milch cows in three years” says Ranjan Naik of the Gurjung IlDP. He said he has already performed AI in 308 cows and buffaloes in last one and half-a-year.
“The success ratio is 2.6: 1 as against the standard Calf Birth Ration (CBR) of 4:1” adds Ranjan. “This achievement has instilled hopes in us that milk yield in these panchayats would increase 4 times” says Dash.
According to Dash, 308 of 629 breedable cows and buffaloes in the two panchayatas have been artificially inseminated. 108 animals inseminated between August 12 and February 2013 have given birth to 41 healthy calves of Jersy, Red Sindhi, Sahibal, Hariyana and Gir breeds of cow and Murra breed of buffalo.
JK Trust is running 56 IlDCs in Kalahandi district headed by 56 local youths. A total of 447 hybrid calves have taken birth till now. The Kalahandi district figure of milk yield in the year 2010-11 was about 47 thousand metric tones with an average per person availability of 86.21 ml per day as against the availability of 109 ml in the State.