New insemination technology to help boost income of dairy farmers in Andhra Pradesh-OxBig News Network

The female calves produced by using the sex-sorted semen technology under the Accelerated Breed Improvement Programme in Andhra Pradesh.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Andhra Pradesh Livestock Development Agency (APLDA) has planned to promote artificial insemination of cattle using sex-sorted semen technology extensively to ensure more female calves, thereby increasing milk production and income of dairy farmers.

The APLDA has achieved the initial success in building confidence among dairy farmers on the production of female calves (more than 90%) using this technology.

The Animal Husbandry Department has performed 1,23,677 inseminations so far and the results are encouraging, with a ratio of the female and male calves of around 91:9, Dr. M. Srinivasa Rao, Chief Executive Officer (in the cadre of Director of Animal Husbandry), APLDA, Guntur told The Hindu on Friday. 

What is sex-sorted semen

Sex-sorted semen is processed to separate sperm cells carrying either the X chromosome (causing female offspring) or the Y chromosome (causing male offspring), increasing chance of producing calves of a desired sex. 

The APLDA aims to promote this technology in the State, under the Accelerated Breed Improvement Programme (ABIP)- sex-sorted semen project.

“It has been planned to perform 4,00,000 inseminations using sex-sorted semen technology this year, covering at least 10% of the breedable cattle population in the State,” Dr. Srinivasa Rao said.

If everything goes well, the use of conventional semen will be replaced by the sex-sorted semen in five years. With indigenous sex-sorting technology, the cost of production of sex-sorted semen will go down further, he said. 

Game changer in animal breeding

“The sex-sorted semen technology is a game changer in animal breeding. This helps double the income of dairy farmers in two to three years due to enhanced milk production and production of female calves,” the CEO explained. 

The Central and the Andhra Pradesh governments have launched the sex-sorted semen technology to promote the production of female calves in the State, resulting in more milk and female calves under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission. 

He said that the project had been launched with an objective of producing more than 90% female calves in a short span, thereby increasing the animal wealth in rural areas. 

Under this project, at least 35 to 40 ‘elite’ animals belonging to the interested farmers will be identified in every district. After agreement with the farmers, there is a chance of at least 25 female calf births. These calves will conceive after three to four years. After calving, there will be an incremental production of 200 litres to 250 litres for a lactation cycle. 

Farmers can get their animals pregnant under the scheme. They need to register normal-cycling heifers (cows or buffaloes) in their first to third lactation, between 60 to 90 days after calving. Healthy and disease-free animals will be selected for the scheme, he said.

The CEO said that breeds such as Murrah, Jersey, Holstein Friesian, cross-bred Jersey, cross-bred Holstein Friesian, Gir, Sahiwal will be available for the farmers. 

Under this programme, two straws at a subsidised price of ₹675 each will be made available for performing Artificial Insemination, he added.