Homegrown benefit

A shift from exotic and crossbred cattle to indigenous breeds that are better adapted to changing climate and resistant to diseases will help India's dairy sector stay profitable and sustainable

- ANAMIKA YADAV 

ARVIND KUMAR’S hopes were high when he bought two Jersey cows in 2019 by taking a loan of ₹1 lakh from his relative. “Despite constant care, the cows would often fall sick. Milk production would reduce in summers because of heat stress. Impregnating the cows, which is essential for lactation, was also difficult,” says the farmer from Durgapura village in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh. Last year, he sold off the cows and bought three indigenous cows for ₹32,000.

Surender Sahoo, a farmer from Patapur village in Cuttack district of Odisha, narrates a similar story. “We make every effort to provide them cool interiors, but in summers exotic cows always foam at the mouth and wheeze. Their milking capacity also reduces drastically,” says Sahoo. Two years ago, he sold one of his two Jersey cows and now plans to sell the other one as well. He also has two indigenous cows, which he says are better accustomed to heat stress and diseases.