National Dairy Development Board to dedicate indigenous sex sorting tech to nation soon

CHENNAI: To enhance the probability of birth of female calves, which in turn will help increase milk production in the country, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and National Dairy Services (NDS) will soon dedicate the indigenous sex sorting technology to the nation.

Speaking on the initiative, Meenesh Shah, Chairman of NDDB and NDS said that they are developing the indigenous sex sorting of bovine semen is being undertaken at Alamadhi Semen Station in Tiruvallur district near Chennai with the support of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India. “We have planned to dedicate the indigenously developed technology of bovine semen to the nation in August. The production and field trials of the new Indian technology are currently under way whose results are expected to arrive by August 2024,” Shah said while interacting with DT Next at Alamadhi Semen Station.

“We started the trial run of the indigenous technology in March 2024 at Alamadhi and to date, 5,000 doses of sex-sorted bovine semen have been produced. Post the review of the trial results, the technology can be dedicated to the nation,” he noted.

Elaborating on the importance, Shah said, “So far only US sex sorting technology has been used in India. A single-dose straw sperm is sold for Rs 1,000 in US technology. But with current indigenous technology, its market cost will be only 1/3rd of that of US technology. That means Rs 300 to Rs 400 only. Due to this, farmers in India can generate more income by producing more cows and procuring milk. India’s milk production and economy will also grow. With less than 1.1 per cent of people inseminating cows this way so far, this number will increase in the coming days and the number of cows will increase significantly.”

According to Shah, the frozen semen of bulls of high genetic merit being produced at Alamadhi Semen Station is immensely beneficial for dairy farmers in the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Kerala, and Karnataka among others.

“Annually, the station produces and sells 10 million semen doses under the brand ‘Superior animal Genetics’ and the brand commands a market share of close to 40 per cent across the country, “ he said, adding that with the high genetic merit semen, the daily milk potential of indigenous breeds including Kangeyam of Tamil Nadu, Punganur and Ongole from Andhra Pradesh, Vechur from Kerala and Hallikar, Amiritmahal, Malnadu Gidda of Karnataka, are about 15 litres and that of exotic breeds ranges between 25-30 litres.

The Alamadhi station is involved in implementation of Artificial Insemination projects in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission.

Aavin needs autonomy to sustain in market: Shah

CHENNAI: Commenting on Aavin-Amul-Nandini competition in the Tamil Nadu’s milk shed area, NDDB chairman Meenesh Shah said while Gujarat’s Amul and Karnataka’s Nandini have a complete autonomy, the same should be given to Aavin to compete with other dairy cooperatives. “Aavin should do well. But, they (Aavin) were not allowed to decide the prices anymore. To compete with other dairy cooperatives, complete autonomy should be given to Aavin. Then, Aavin can be a good player in the dairy market,” Shah said.