Gir cow and Rashtriya Gokul Mission

Almost a decade ago the Rashtriya Gokul Mission was launched which seems to promote only Gir cow across the country, instead of improving the quality of all the indigenous breeds as envisioned.

About the Gir indigenous cow:

• The Gir or Gyr is an Indian breed of zebuine cattle originating in the state of Gujarat.
• It originated in Gir forests of South Kathiawar in Gujarat and hence its name.
• It is also found in Maharashtra and adjacent Rajasthan.
• It is also known as Bhadawari, Desan, Gujarati, Kathiawari, Sorthi, and Surati.
• Appearance– basic colours of skin are white with dark red or chocolate-brown patches or sometimes black or purely red.
  • Horns are peculiarly curved, giving it a ‘half-moon’ appearance.
• Its milk yield ranges from 1200-1800 kgs per lactation.
• It is known for its stress tolerance and disease resistance.
• It has the capacity of yielding more milk with less feeding and is resistant to various tropical diseases. 

About the Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM):

• It was launched to improve the milk production and productivity in a scientific manner by developing and conserving indigenous bovine breeds.
• It is a part of National Livestock mission.
• The scheme is also continued under the umbrella scheme “Rashtriya Pashudhan Vikas Yojna” from 2021 to 2026.
• It establishes integrated cattle development centres known as “gokul gram”.
• It was launched in 2014.
• It has 2 major components– (i) research and development of high-quality semen to increase the chances of female calf births (ii) the setting up of semen stations to ensure easy access to high-quality semen for livestock rearers across the country.
• Depending on the geographical location, the high-quality semen will be used to impregnate other indigenous varieties. 

Objectives of RGM:

• To enhance productivity of bovines and increasing milk production in a sustainable manner using advance technologies.
  • This must also include high milk-yielding indigenous bovine varieties such as Sahiwal, Tharparkar, and Red Sindhi.
    • Sahiwal is a breed of Indian zebu cow, found in states of Punjab, Haryana, & Rajasthan.
    • Tharparkar (named after the Thar Desert of Rajasthan) is a dual purpose and disease resistant cattle breed, which is also known as “White Sindhi” and are found in Kutchchh of Gujarat and Barmer, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur districts of Rajasthan.
    • Red Sindhi is a heat tolerant milch cattle, which is also known as “Malir”, “Red Karachi” and “Sindhi”.
• To propagate use of high genetic merit bulls for breeding purposes.
• To enhance Artificial insemination coverage through strengthening breeding network and delivery of Artificial insemination services at farmers doorstep.
• To promote indigenous cattle & buffalo rearing and conservation in a scientific and holistic manner.

Components:

• Availability of high genetic merit germplasm, extension of artificial insemination network, development and conservation of indigenous breeds, skill development, farmers awareness and research development and innovation in bovine breeding.

Disadvantages:

• Almost all states are demanding Gir varieties for carrying out artificial insemination, defying the objective of the scheme.

Solution:

• Genetically superior cows should be identified and bred from among the indigenous cows.
  • These cows can be crossbred.

Why Gir breed is preferred for RGM?

• The Gir breed is popular as the mission was started in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh where milk production of indigenous bovine varieties impregnated with Gir increased by 3 to 4 litres a day.
• A purebred Gir has the highest milk production among indigenous varieties.
• It is a native of the west and centralparts of India, and hence it can adapt to the entire centralbelt and northern and southern stretches.
  • Sahiwal, a native of Northern India or Tharparkar, from the Northwest, is not adaptive to new environments.
  • Even the graded variety of Hariana, the only high-yielding breed with a population larger than Gir, declined from 46.41 million in 2013 to 15.78 million in 2019.
• As they are calmer than other indigenous varieties, farmers seem to prefer them.

Disadvantages of Gir Cow:

• Graded Gir cows are not performing better in most states such as Haryana, east Rajasthan etc.
  • However, the milk yield of graded Gir cows is higher than indigenous breeds in west Rajasthan because of climatic conditions.
• In some regions, the graded Gir cows have shorter lactation periods and lower daily milk production.
• Gir cows prefer living in herds and their milk production reduces when bred in isolation.
• India may lose purebred varieties of indigenous bovines.

Key facts:

• Badri cows in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are short and hairy, which helps them survive in the harsh, cold mountains.
• Currently, almost 30% of all calves in the country are born through artificial insemination. 
• During whiterevolution in India, India imported exotic breeds like Jersey to crossbreed with Indian varieties.
  • This resulted into increased milk production, but it did not increased income for livestock rearers as the crossbred cows were more prone to diseases and required more care.

Ref: Source