NEW DELHI: Expanding the list of well-documented and scientifically recognised animal breeds in the country, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has registered 16 more new breeds of indigenous animals including cattle and buffalo, taking the total number of such breeds in India to 262. The move will help in conservation and sustainable utilisation of India’s diverse and climate-resilient animal genetic resources at a time when rising temperature due to global warming is posing grave risk to animal productivity and the overall food security.The new indigenous breeds include four each of cattle (Umarda, Periyar, Koppal and Mahakaushali) and Sheep (Madgyal, Seemanchali, Kow Debar and Asomi); two goats (Totapuri and Battisi); and one each of buffalo (Gomanchali), dog (Kombai), pig (Nagal), horse/pony (Kashmiri), donkey (Braj) and yak (Sikkimese yak).These breeds, registered early this month, represent diverse agro-ecological regions spreading across 13 states — Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Goa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu — and UT of Jammu & Kashmir. Goat breed Battisi is distributed across Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh whereas the sheep breed Madgyal is found in Maharashtra and Karnataka.“Indigenous breeds have evolved under diverse production environments and possess locally adapted characteristics that can be valuable for climate resilience, disease adaptation, low-input production, livelihood support and sustainable livestock farming. Their conservation is therefore important not only for maintaining genetic diversity but also for ensuring the availability of adaptive livestock resources for future generations,” N H Mohan, directorof the ICAR’s National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR), told TOI.
Newly registered indigenous livestock and dog breeds. Photo credit: ICAR-NBAGR
Karnal-based ICAR-NBAGR is the nodal institute for registration of livestock and poultry breeds in India. With the new addition, the indigenous animal breeds now include 59 for cattle (Sahiwal, Gir, Red Kandhari and Hallikar etc.) 23 for buffalo (Murrah, Nili Ravi, Bhadawari and Mehsana etc.), 45 for goat, 50 for sheep, 16 for pigs, nine each for horses & ponies, camel and duck; five for donkey; six for dog and three for yak among others.“The new registrations strengthen the national effort to reduce the proportion of nondescript livestock populations through systematic breed identification and documentation. This approach is particularly important for ensuring that valuable locally adapted populations are scientifically recognized and brought within appropriate conservation and sustainable utilization programmes,” said Mohan.
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
He said, “ICAR-NBAGR’s efforts are aligned with the broader national objective of strengthening India’s livestock genetic base and supporting food and nutritional security, sustainable livelihoods and climate-resilient livestock production.”