Conservation Centre For Gangatiri Cows Being Set Up

LUCKNOW (IANS) – The Uttar Pradesh government will set up the country’s first conservation center for Gangatiri, a breed of cows in Varanasi. This breed of cows originates along the Ganga banks.

Over the years, Gangatiri has been significantly overshadowed by high-yielding cow breeds like Sahiwal. But the technology used at the center will help produce cows of high genetic merit using the IVF and embryo transfer technology (ETT), in which embryos from genetically superior cows would be disseminated to other females to increase the number of genetically superior progenies.

The project will impact farmers in eastern UP and Bihar, as it will help them rear superior cows of the local breed for increased milk production and income.

Uttar Pradesh has a pure germplasm of the breed, as a herd of around 400 Gangatiri cows is being maintained at a higher productivity level at a farm in  Shahanshahpur in Varanasi, which was established in 1950.

Gangatiri, being a native breed, has many merits, like high adaptability to the region and lesser input cost. The native breeds are not only resistant to a lot of diseases but also economical.