The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Cattle breeding policy to focus on yield, conservation

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Thursday, Jan 03, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Cattle breeding policy to focus on yield, conservation

Staff Reporter

– Photo: S. Mahinsha

Recognition: AgricultureMinister Mullakkara Ratnakaran, along with Animal Husbandry Minister C. Divakaran, and Union Animal Husbandry Secretary Pradeep Kumar, releasing the HACCP certification of the Kulathupuzha semen bank in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government has launched a major initiative to revise its cattle breeding policy in view of the drastic changes that had taken place in the animal husbandry sector, both in the State and outside, in the recent years. Inaugurating a high-level brain-storming session on the draft breeding policy here on Wednesday, Minister for Food and Animal Husbandry C. Divakaran said the revised policy would aim at achieving the twin objectives of increasing the milk yield rapidly even while staying focussed on the efforts to conserve the unique indigenous varieties of cattle in the State.

He said it was unfortunate that the State had failed in achieving self-sufficiency in milk and meat production despite long-periods of sustained intervention to upgrade the quality of the domestic cattle stock. He said it was imperative for the State to enhance its milk production and achieve self-sufficiency through the strategies like cross-breeding.Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran said the collective route of cattle rearing should be explored in the State as the traditional individual homestead-based farms were becoming unviable here. Secretary of the Animal Husbandry Department of the Union Government Pradeep Kumar emphasised the need for adopting a holistic approach in the dairy sector rather than focussing exclusively on breeding.

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