The Chhattisgarh Government has launched an in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) centre for boosting milk production in the state. Being implemented for the first time on a commercial basis in India, this bovine fertility technique might turn the land of Chhattisgarh into a land of plentiful milk.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, who inaugurated an IVF centre for boosting milk production, has said that the government would spread the use of this technology across the state so that people can avail benefits from it.
The Chief Minister lauded JK Trust – an NGO which has been working towards improvement of cattle and buffaloes breed – and said the use of IVF technology will bring about a change in Chhattisgarh.
“JK trust is doing an amazing job for Chhattisgarh and the nation. They are producing good breed of cattle using IVF technology. Even local breeds can give more milk. This can bring about a change in Chhattisgarh. We can experiment on local varieties of cows,” he said.
The milk yield of high-pedigree Indian-breed cows can be increased through IVF to almost five-fold –– to 10 litres per cow every day. The technology, introduced by the JK Trust in line with the Centre’s ‘Rashtriya
Gokul Mission’ for upgradation of indigenous breeds of cattle, will ‘rapidly’ multiply the high-pedigree Indian-breed cow population.“A high-pedigree cow can physically produce only a few calves in her life-time due to the long gestation period. This can be addressed through IVF technology. This can usher in the second White Revolution,” said Shyam Zavar, CEO, JK Trust. Using IVF technology, the oocytes (female eggs) from the high-pedigree cow can be extracted, developed into embryos in a laboratory by combining with semen from a bull of the same breed and injected into recipient cows, which will develop the embryos and give birth to calves.
“The IVF is an expensive technology; it is just like test tube babies. Both embryo and sperm are kept in nitrogen to preserve it for over 100 years,” Singh said.
Singh further said that his government would like to involve veterinary colleges and universities in this initiative so that it can be taken to all districts of the state.
“They have also started a mobile unit. We would like to spread it across Chhattisgarh. We would like to involve even veterinary colleges and universities in it. We are looking forward to signing an MoU so that we take it to all the districts of the state,” he said.
The embryos have been created using the ova from donor mother’s ovary of indigenous cow breeds like Gir and then combined with male semen of the same breed. The embryos created in lab are later transplanted into surrogate cows to produce high pedigree cattle.
Artificial insemination technique is one of the assisted reproductive technologies that the Centre is promoting to conserve indigenous cattle and buffalo breeds.
