Jharkhand is ready to provide 12 digit ID numbers to each of the female bovine populations under National Programme on Bovine Breeding being conducted under the Government of India. The move is part of the Central Government’s plans of tagging and tracking cattle to ensure that they get vaccines on time, which can improve their breeding and milk production, and double the industry’s income in the next three years.
“As we have already completed the training programme for the same where over 1600 Artificial Insemination Workers and Doctors have been trained all over the state having 60 to 70 such people in each of the districts, we are ready to start the programme as soon as the funds are provided to us,” said Domain Officer cum Chief Instructor of Jharkhand State Implement Agency for Cattle and Buffalo (JSIACB) Krishna Kant Tiwari.
All female bovine population in Jharkhand will soon to get a 12-digit unique ID numbers on the lines of ‘Aadhaar’ to counter illegal trade, track their breed, location, breeding cycle and milk production. Under this programme, a tag will be affixed on the ear of every single cow and buffalo in the Country in the next three years.
“These 12 digits ID numbers will contain the breed and age of the cattle, as also information about the owner, location and also details about its vaccination,” said Tiwari. Even on the e-marketing platform, only the animals having UID tagging could participate in it which will be valid all over the Country as that number will never be allotted to any animal, he said.
Owners will also be given a booklet where they will have to fill cows’ ‘data’ every day.
“Owners will also have to fill a questionnaire, which will comprise details of owners like address, phone numbers. The details will be fed on National Dairy Development Board’s database with special identification tags of cattle such as their photographs, age, race, complexion and body structure,” said the Domain Officer.
This move comes about a year after Jharkhand embarked upon a similar mission, to trace and tag the 48 lakh cattle and buffalo it has. Jharkhand Animal and Husbandry officials were apparently asked to undergo the exercise to monitor and check the illegal trade of cattle.
“Earlier, it was to be done in some of the selected areas, but now it will be done all over Jharkhand. All the data will be fed in Information Network for Animal Productivity and Health (INAPH) Software from which history of any animal could be obtained with a single click,” he said. Tagging of more than 22,000 cattle in the eight targeted districts has already been done in Jharkhand, he added.