Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Steps to popularise Malabari goats

Needed protection: Malabari goats form the most acclimatised breed of goats in the State.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Artificial Insemination (AI) of Malabari goats will be spread to more areas in the current fiscal, as part of the initiatives to conserve and upgrade the quality of this unique goat breed of Kerala.

Managing Director of the Kerala Livestock Development Board (KLDB) Ani S. Das told The Hindu here that the pilot project of AI among Malabari goats was launched in Palakkad district last year, and the proposal was to extend it to the five districts of Kottayam, Malappuram, Pathanamthitta, Thrissur and Kollam.

According to scientists, Kerala is probably the only State to carry out AI among goats on such a wide scale.

Director of Animal Husbandry Department (AHD) R. Vijayakumar said the goats’ population in Kerala was about 12 to 14 lakh as per the 2003 livestock census. But the just-concluded census indicated there was a significant increase in the goat population in the State, though the exact figures would be available only after the field veterinarians despatched their quick estimates of the data collected by them.

K.C. Raghavan of the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, said the Malabari goats are the most acclimatised breeds of the State and they could be reared for both milk and meat purposes.

Dr. Raghavan, who is the principal investigator of the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Malabari Goats of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, said Malabari goats were seen mainly in white, white and black, white and brown in colour. Their average yield was about 500-700 ml of milk a day and they weigh about 15-20 kg at one year of age. They are generally long eared and horned. According to rough estimates, nearly 10 per cent of the goat population of the State belonged to the Malabari variety, he said.

Manager of the KLDB’s farm at Dhoni, R. Rajeev, said the rate of breeding success in AI was over 40 per cent. It was possible to improve the quality of the breed through AI as semen could be collected from good bucks. With the shortage of quality bucks among Malabari goat population more farmers now prefer AI. There was also the possibility of adoption of better disease management practices in AI, Dr. Vijayakumar said.

However, some of the scientists are sceptical about the viability of AI among goats. They feel the conception rate in AI was only about 20 per cent and not 40 per as was being claimed by the KLDB authorities. They instead suggested that natural breeding practices which have a 95 per cent conception rate should be adopted among goats. Healthy bucks must be distributed to the farmers groups which own 10 to 12 goats, for breeding purposes.

Asked whether the current breeding programme would eventually lead to widespread cross-breeding of native varieties with exotic varieties like the Australian Boer, Dr Vijayakumar said the government’s focus was on conserving and popularising the native breeds like Malabari goats. The cross-breeding programme was being carried out only for academic purposes.

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