How cattle’s are helpful to Indian farmers?

Even though India is an agricultural country it is not possible to plough the land with the help of tractors as the holdings are very small in size. So ploughing is done by plough and yoke. Bullock-carts are still used for transportation.

Similarly cows and buffaloes are reared up for milk production. That is why cows, buffaloes and bullocks play an important role in our agricultural economy. We also get hides, bones, horns, cow dung manures from these animals.

Nowadays, bio-gas (Gobar gas) is being produced from the dung of these domestic animals. India ranks first in the world in respect of cattle population. But India’s position is very unsatisfactory in respect of animal products as the quality of the Indian livestock is very poor; i.e. they are not properly reared up and are highly neglected.

Nearly 19 per cent of the world’s total numbers of cattle are found in India. Out of this number, more than half are bullocks and a few are milch cows. Similarly about more than half of the world’s buffaloes are in India. Bullocks are the main source of. Motive power in agricultural operations and transport and milk is the principal source of animal protein in the diet of a vast majority of Indian people. So, nowadays high breeds of cattle are being reared up in different States of India.

Among the best known milk breeds found in the country are the Gir, Red Sindhi, Sindhi, Sahiwtil and Deoni breeds. The Gir breed is a native of Saurashtra of the Gujarat State. They are large sized and healthy animals. These cows yield much milk and the bullocks are hard-working in the field. Nowadays these cattle are found in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra etc.

The Sahiwal breed is found in many areas of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. These cows are a great favourite of dairy farms because of high yield of milk, but the bullocks are heavy and lethargic. Hailing from Sind in Pakistan, the Red Sindhi and Sindhi are at present, found in many States of India. They are most distinctive due to their red colour and heavy milk-yielding capacity. The main areas of their habitat are Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. They quickly adapt themselves to varying climatic conditions and are highly disease-resistant.

The Deoni breed is found in north-western and western parts of Andhra Pradesh, A Deoni cow yields much milk and the Deoni bullocks are good for heavy work. The Haryana breed is a much prized cattle in Rohtak, Hissar, Gurgaon and Delhi areas. They are very beautiful and yield much milk. The bullocks are strong and hard-working. The Tharparka breed is found on farms in Gujarat and Rajasthan. The cows of this breed are good milch cattle and the bullocks are suitable for hard work in the fields. The Kankreej breed is indigenous to the Gujarat plains. They are good milch cows. The Mewati cattle are found in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh and Alwar and Bharatpur district of Rajasthan. The Vimari breed is largely found in the Narmada Valley of Madhya Pradesh. All these breeds are high yielding milch cows.

The other good breeds are the Dangi of Maharastra, the Ongole of Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh, and the Murrah of south Punjab, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

Buffaloes of various breeds are found in different States of India. They generally yield more milk than cows and the male buffaloes make excellent drought animals, particularly for heavy carting. Buffaloes are an important source of milk supply in India contributing about 50 per cent of the country’s total production of milk, through female buffaloes. They generally thrive in warm and wet climate.

Buffaloes are found in all parts of the country except the Himalayan mountain areas. The Indian buffaloes are the world’s best breeds; the most important among those are the Bhadawari, Jaffarabadi, Nagpuri, Nili-Ravi etc.

Much attention has been given in the Five-Year Plans of India for the development of the cattle wealth. Special care has been taken for prevention and cure of diseases of animals through community development schemes. Hybrid cows of improved varieties like the Jersey, Holstein etc. are being produced by artificial insemination. Such cows are of high-yielding variety.

After the “Green Revolution” was successful in India, the “White Revolution” has been started in the States of Punjab and Haryana for production of more milk.