FEATURE

G S UNNIKRISHNAN NAIR

Guardian of Traditional Cattle Breeds

Indian society has addressed the cow as gow mata.According to puranas, ChurningofpalazhibroughtfivedivineKamadhenus,viz.,Nanda,Subhadra, Surabhi,SushilaandBahula.Thesesignifyreverenceforthecow,and our abiding faith that the cow is Annapurna. Native cattle breeds, that could alleviate the poverty of millions of small farmers in our country deserves to be referred as Annapurna. They have to be protected for our future generations, Chandran Master, a retiredTTI Principal, is leading the way.
n India as well as rest of the world, genetic erosion is happening among native farm animal breeds. In Kerala, some highly productive breeds were promoted in the last three decades to meet the rising demand for animal products. The semen of these 'elite' breeds were used

extensively for crossing with indigenous breeds, leading to large-scale propagation of a few exotic breeds at the cost of the native breeds, some of which are now truly endangered. Factors like commercialisation of Dairy sector aggravated the loss of local breeds. Realising the value of these local

breeds, a retired TTI Principal, Chandran Master has taken up conservation of these breeds as his life mission. He was recently declared as the winner of two prestigious awards; Breed Savior Award instituted by National Biodiversity Authority and Tara Devi Modi Rashtra Utthan Award instituted

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by Durga Dutt Modi Foundation. In his homestead and garden land spread over 9 acres in Vemballoor, Thrissur, Chandran Master is conserving 32 cattle belonging to 16 native Indian breeds. Being the member of an agricultural family, Chandran Master had an early passion towards farming and farm animal rearing. After retirement, he got fully engrossed in conservation of local breeds and natural farming. 74 year Chandran Master travels to various parts of the country to study and buy local breeds of cattle. A good portion of his pension benefits and personal savings are being utilised for this great cause. Indigenous cattle breeds are well adapted to our country and thrive well in adverse conditions. They have good disease resistance also. Though the milk yield may be less in some breeds, it has high medicinal value. Anti-indigenous cattle policies and acts resulted in the collapse of these native cattles population says Chandran Master. During 1960s the authorities even castrated bulls belonging to local breeds in order to boost the population of hybrid cows. An amended Act in 1968 put forward the provision to fine and imprisonment to those who keep native bulls. Experience has proved that hybrid cows are a failure in Kerala condition. These cows require more feed and are susceptible to diseases. Small farmers could not afford the high cost involved in maintaining hybrid cows. This lead to the gradual disappearance of these breeds from the farmlands and homesteads of Kerala. Earlier, each farmer had cattle. Farming and cattle rearing were integrated in a mutually beneficial way.- Chandran Master added. He gives local feeds to the cattle, which includes green grass, rice powder and oil cakes. According to Chandran Master, the reason why Indian cow milk has so much nutritious value is because it has a very special organ called the "Surya Nadi". This organ extracts Sun's energy and imparts nutritious value in the milk. Local cows milk contains more beneficial A2 type of -

casein protein rather than the more prevalent A1 protein in hybrid cows milk. If you observe closely, Indian cows milk is yellowish in color. This yellow color is the real secret of Indian cow milk's nutritious value. Indian cows milk is thick, contain less fat, more iodine, less cholesterol and is easily digestible. But the milk produced by hybrid cows after eating feeds containing urea and distillery waste will not be good for the body. But we are feeding this milk or rather poison, even to our children. The hybrid cows fed with these feeds become

much obese and impotent in an early age. They become mere milking machines and their final destination is the slaughter house - Chandran Master pointed out. He has all the local dwarf cattle breeds of Kerala including the Vechur cow (85100cms I height) and Kasaragod dwarf (8595 ms). He got the rare Vadakara Dwarf cattle from the tribes of Chimmini forest. Vadakara Dwarf measures 95- 110 cm in height. A special feature of the cattle is that it is hornless. The milk of these cattle has

alth Breeds of We ies, breeds clude all spec

cultural c resources in scientific and Animal geneti of economic, e ar d in the at an th w s no in , and stra r agriculture fo nd ki ies in an ec m rtebrate sp interest to hu ,000 or so ve mals 50 e am th m of Of s . ie future out 40 spec ab ly ted on ca y, ti da es as dom the world to ely recognized ven id se w e e ud ar cl s in rd es and bi domesticat al im s, an at or go aj , m le ffalo, catt species. The ies ies (asses, bu ec ec sp sp n n ia ia av al m mam and four and sheep) cording to horses, pigs d turkeys). Ac an e es ge s, ck estimated du s, an e en id (chick species prov al im and an tic es e of all food FAO, dom t of the valu e. An id w ld or 30-40 percen w pr od uc ti on ag ri cu lt ur e ople - or one1.97 billion pe ed at estim pu la ti on po 's w or ld th ir d of th e r so m e li ve st oc k fo de pe nd on Animals d. oo ih el r liv portion of thei th e % ab ou t 20 of but ac co un t fo r ly, ct re di et bask gh t world's food au dr nt ri bu te th ey al so co crop r fo e ur an power and m a an d pr ov id e pr od uc ti on , rves se re sh ca of valuable form s. farming system in many mixed 20% O, FA e th to g But accordin ds y 76 00 br ee of th e ro ug hl nging lo be e, id w ld reported wor d 16 ian species an to 18 mammal and 62 k, ris at e ar avian species, in the e extinct with breeds becam y. ur nt ce is th of first 6 years

high medicinal value and can withstand high temperature. Belonging to the Western Ghat of Karnataka, Malnad Gidda (81 to 88 centimeters) is also in Chandran masters collection. This breed recently got registered by the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, Karnal (NBAGR). The sacred Kapila cow, which has an average height- 83 cm is also with him. This breed was reared by Kapila rishi and hence derived its name. This cow produces a substance called

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Indian Breeds netic

ge in the world Indias share cattle is d an at go p, wealth of shee r cent r cent, 33 pe around 20 pe tively. cent, respec and 16.5 per eeds br us no ge of indi Total number on al ti Na st er ed by in In di a re gi et ic en G al An im Bu re au of 144, is R) rnal (NBAG alo, Resources, Ka ff bu 13 , le tt 37 ca es& which include rs ho r r sheep, 6 fo ey 23 goat, 39 fo nk do e on g, pi el, 2 nponies, 8 cam no y an M n breeds. and 15 chicke there. so al e ar ds descript bree tapady, Malabari , At are Vechur cattle chery chickens goats and Telli gi st er ed fr om re d th e br ee ds ge dw ar f an an hr ig .H la g, pi Ke ra i al m ga ttle, An Cheruvalli ca anad alo and Kutt ff Bu ad an Kutt local t en in other prom ducks are the e. at st breeds in our
"Go-rochana" in its horns, which has high medicinal value. Kapila cow is highly revered one with spiritual values. It has got immense tolerance to diseases. It is grown by tulu Brahmins and usually they dont sell calf to outsiders. He got it from Sree Ramachandrapura Mutt at Shimoga. Amruthadhara, the unique cattle shed of Sree Mutt at Hosanagara, houses the largest variety of native breed cattle in the country. Another dwarf breed of cattle is the Kuttampuzha Kullan. This breed is similar to

Kasaragod Dwarf and yields 2 litres of milk per day. He got it from the Kurichi tribes in Edamalayar forest region. It is 85-95 cms tall. Another dwarf Indian breed, the Punganur is also there in his collection. It originated in Chitoor District of Andhra Pradesh. Punganurs milk has high fat content and rich medicinal properties. While cow milk normally has a fat content of 3 to 3.5 per cent, the Punganur breed's milk contains 8 per cent, similar to buffalo milk. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams has about 200 Punganur cows in its cattle-yard. Ghee prepared from the milk of these cows is being used as archana' for Lord Venkateswara. A total of 26 dwarf cows and 4 bulls are kept in his farm. According to him dwarf cows are very easy to maintain and are very docile. Even marginal farmers could have one or two of these cows. Not only the milk, their dung and urine are used as manure and medicine. Chandran Master has not restricted his collection to dwarf cows alone. He says that India is the country having most number of native cattle breeds in the world. Some of the majestic Indian breeds are with him. Eminent Rural Journalist P.Sainath presented Murrah buffalos to him. Murrah breed of buffalo, the pride of Haryana, is a milk type animal. The home tract of Murrah buffalo is Rohtak, Jind and Hisar districts of Haryana. It is also found in Nabha and Patiala districts of Punjab and around Delhi. One of the star attractions in Chandran

Masters collection is the Gir cow and bull he brought from Gujarat spending about fifty thousand rupees. The origin of the breed is in the Gir forest region and surrounding districts of Saurashtra region of Gujarat State. These cows yield 1590 kg of milk per lactation with a fat content of about 4.5 per cent. Recently the Gir cow in Masters homestead gave birth to a female calf. Another cow breed reared here is the Sahiwal, which originated in the Punjab region. Due to heat tolerance and high milk production they have been exported to other Asian countries as well as Africa and the Caribbean. The Sahiwal was exported to Australia in the early 1950s. In Australia, the Sahiwal was initially selected as a dualpurpose breed. It played a valuable role in

National Bure au of Animal Genetic Resources, Ka rnal (NBAGR) is the nodal ag en cy fo r re gi identified germ st ra ti on of ne w ly plasm of the livestock an d po ul tr y of th e co un tr y. To ta l nu m be r of in di ge no us br ee ds registered in the country is 144, which include 37 ca ttle, 13 buffal o, 23 goat, 39 sheep, 6 for horses& ponies, 8 camel, two pi g, one donkey and 15 chicken breeds .

Breed Registration

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the development of the two Australian tropical dairy breeds, the Australian Milking Zebu and the Australian Fresian Sahiwal. Fresian Sahiwal yield 3500 kg per lactation. Master has also acquired prestigious breed of Rajasthan, the Tharpakar and the famous Red Sindhi cattle that originated in the Sindh province of Pakistan. Tamilnadu breeds are also with him. This includes the hardy breeds like Kankayam and Manappara used for ploughing and transport. The Kankrej and Krishna valley cows also can be seen grazing around in Masters land. The Kankrej is on of the heaviest of the Indian breeds of cattle originated in northern Gujarat. Male is well known for his Majestic Gait. They are fast powerful draft cattle. The Krishna Valley is a heavy draft breed suitable for ploughing in the black cotton soil on the watershed of the River Krishna, which becomes extremely difficult to work during the rainy season. It is also used for hauling heavy loads. During day I allow my cattle to graze around freely since that is the way they are accustomed to grow. The milk of the local breeds is of good demand as people have started realizing its medicinal quality. I consume cow urine regularly and advice others to do so. After a simple distillation process it can be made into Gomutra arka, which is effective in checking many diseases if consumed regularly as per the prescribed dosage. It increases resistance power and life span, purifies the blood, reduces cholesterol and checks obesity. It is also effective in skin diseases, acidity, kidney ailments and other diseases. I even used cow dung of native breeds as poultice for skin problem and it was cured says Chandran Master. Chandran Master is not concerned about the monetary benefits of his venture. After use by the family of six, rest of the milk is only sold. He also sells butter, ghee, jeevamrutham, Beejamrutham (organic manure) and Gomuthra Arka. Chandran Master is satisfied with whatever income he gets out of it. He sells calves to conservation minded people only. He insists on keeping bulls of each breed with the cows for breeding purpose. He believes that being able to protect native breeds for the future is more important than getting money. The surprises in Chandran Masters homestead dont end here. There is a Kathiawari horse brought from Gujarat. The breeding tract of this is Saurashtra province of Gujarat. The horse is very friendly with Masters family. Measuring just one foot, the

Vechur MilkAlternative to Ampicillin is

protein in milk The Lactoferrin itional value. A nutr known for its SC M S nt is ts fr om ie sc of p gr ou Kochi in y og otechnol Institute of Bi n in ri er of ct la at od ha s fo un d th go a is s m il k Ve ch ur Co w , an in ll ci pi am to al te rn at iv e g us ed hi ch is be in an ti bi ot ic w ed in ish bl pu as w y ud widely. The st l of na ur Jo io na l th e In te rn at io na ry ut ol ev d an fu nc ti on al NE. genomics- GE

pigmy goats in Chandran Masters collection surprises the visitors. Native chicken breeds are also grown here. This includes Naked Neck, Tellichei, Aseel, Kadaknath and Kalasthi. I grow them in the traditional backyard system. They roam around freely in the homestead and garden land, feeding on insects and weed seeds. Native chicken breeds lay very tasty eggs and require minimum care. says Chandran Master. Many traditional fish breeds are grown in ponds situated in Chandran Masters land. Coconut, medicinal trees like Punna, medicinal plants, about 30varieties of Bamboo and many local varieties of Mango

Medicinal Milk

the Kerala Veterinary Milk analyses done in iversity now support and Animal Sciences Un in ancient ayurvedic en the in formations giv that the percentage texts. Studies concluded the milk of Vechur in of fat and total solids crossbreed cows. to ed par com cows is higher is the size of the ect A more noteworthy asp size of fat globule in fat globules. The mean (3.21 microns) is cow the milk of the Vechur goat (2.60 microns), higher than that of the than that of the er all but considerably sm rons) and of Murrah crossbred cows (4.87 mic e small size of fat Th s). buffalo (5.85 micron phospholipid content globules means high e area. Phospholipids fac because of greater sur elopment of brain and are important in the dev y a vital role in the pla o nerve tissues and als ion of fat. Since the absorption and digest higher percentage of got Vechur cow milk has saturated fatty acids, smaller fat globules and tic all y use ful in eu it wo uld be the rap me. This proves that malabsorption syndro products are suitable its Vechur cow milk and k. for infants and the sic

are grown in the land. Natural farming system is adopted. Ploughing and weeding are not done. According to him, weeds provide mulching effect to soil and most are valuable medicines. Cowdung and cow urine are applied on soil surface. A sacred grove consisting of rare trees and vines is also maintained. Age doesnt prevent Chandran Master from traveling to places where he can meet like mind people and acquire new breeds. His family realises the value of his contribution to the nation and gives wholehearted support to it.
The writer is Asst Diretor of Agricultur,Seed Garden Complex, Munderi

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