Gujarat Bovine Breeding Policy 2018

Livestock (Bovine) Breeding Policy 2018

• The Government of Gujarat canceled its 2013 livestock (Bovine) Breeding Policy and implemented the Livestock (Bovine) Breeding Policy 2018.
• The policy aims to modernize the bovine sector in order to provide employment and income to livestock keepers, ensure food and nutritional security, and contribute to national food security.
• The breeding policy's objectives encompass increased milk production by enhancing cattle and buffalo productivity, conserves indigenous breeds, and implements genetic improvement programs.

Key Objectives

• Increase milk production in Gujarat by enhancing cattle and buffalo productivity.
• Conserve and further develop indigenous cattle and buffalo breeds.
• Implement genetic improvement programs to enhance the genetic potential of each breed.
• Phase out low-yielding cattle and buffaloes.
• Develop crossbreeding strategies enabling farmers to profit from crossbred animals.
• Identify bulls of low genetic merit and keep them from breeding.
• Follow Standard Operating Procedures recommended by the Government of India (GoI) for progeny testing, semen production, processing, and training.
• Expand the artificial insemination (AI) service delivery network to breed cattle and buffaloes with high-quality disease free semen doses.
• Increase the availability of animal protein in human diets.

Core Areas for Breed Conservation

• The policy identifies core areas for each breed based on population density in each district.
• The core area for Kankrej is Banaskantha, Patan, Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Kachchh, Surendranagar, and Ahmedabad.
• The core area for Gir is Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Surendranagar, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Porbandar, Botad, Dwarka, Gir-Somnath, and Morbi.
• Other core areas are outlined in the table included in the policy.

Breeding Policies and Strategies for Genetic Improvement

Cattle

• In core areas, all cows of a specific breed shall be bred with semen or bulls of the respective breed.
• Genetic improvement programs will be implemented through pedigree selection and progeny testing.
• The exotic inheritance in crossbreds will be maintained around 50%.
• Farmers will be given the choice to breed non-descript cows with semen or bulls of the core breed or Holstein Friesian (HF) breed.

Buffalo

• All buffalos of a specific breed in the core area shall only be bred with semen or bulls of the respective breed.
• An information network will be set up to collect data and provide information to all stakeholders, including farmers.

Quality Control Measures

• Semen stations are evaluated biannually by the Central Monitoring Unit (CMU) of DADF.
• Only frozen semen doses produced at "A" or "B" grade semen stations shall be used in the state.
• All genetic improvement programs will be evaluated annually under the National Dairy Plan I evaluation mechanism.
• The state government will establish a system for the annual evaluation of AI service providers.

Human Resource Development (HRD)

• The Department will initiate a drive to educate farmers, inseminators, veterinarians, and other officials on the Breeding Policy and its benefits.
• The breeding policy will be an integral part of training programs for farmers, AI technicians, paravets and veterinarians. It will also be included in the curriculum of the veterinary colleges.

Policy Implementation

• The state will establish an independent authority to regulate all breeding operations, including evaluation and production of bulls, semen production, AI delivery, AI training institutions, and bulls for natural service.
• An empowered committee, chaired by the Secretary (AH), will oversee the implementation of the Breeding Policy.
• The policy will be reviewed and revised every five years or earlier as deemed necessary by the Department of Animal Husbandry, Government of Gujarat.

Explore the key objectives and goals of the Livestock (Bovine) Breeding Policy 2018 implemented by the Government of Gujarat. This quiz covers the policy's focus on increasing milk production, conserving indigenous breeds, and enhancing genetic improvement programs to benefit livestock keepers and national food security.