[ Bengia Ajum ]
NIRJULI, 2 Mar: In a first of its kind, the animal husbandry, veterinary and dairy development (AHV&DD) department has started conducting artificial insemination (AI) with imported sex-sorted Holstein Friesian (HF) semen at the central cattle breeding farm here, starting from 27 February onwards.
The frozen semen was brought from Sabarmati Gaushala Ashram in Gujarat. In the first instance, the semen was inserted into a female jersey heifer and, secondly, into a female HF cow.
The department imported 300 doses of artificial insemination (AI) with imported sex-sorted HF semen at the cost of Rs 850 per dose, and it will be distributed to the government cattle farms across the state. Already, 25 doses have been given to the Namsai farm, and soon, other farms will receive it.
Talking to this daily, Senior Veterinary Officer and Rashtriya Gokul Mission assistant nodal officer Dr Seba Yomdo said that artificial insemination with sex-sorted semen is the beginning of a new era for the state of Arunachal Pradesh. “We are getting semen from the bull whose production is good. Using this technology gives much better results than conventional one,” said Dr Seba.
He also shared the advantages of sex-sorted semen technology. “The probability of conceiving with female calves is 90-95%, and thus the farmer gets the benefits. The probability of exotic inheritance in the next generation increases by 12.5%. This will result in the increased milk production,” he said.
Further, he said that artificial insemination technology is a boon for the dairy industry as the unnecessary maintenance and management of rearing bulls gets nullified. “Most importantly, the probability of inbreeding among the farm animals is also nullified,” said Dr Seba.
Meanwhile, AHV&DD Minister Gabriel D Wangsu hailed the successful insemination of Arunachal’s first AI with imported sex-sorted Holstein Friesian semen. “This advancement marks a transformative step in our livestock development. It promises to enhance breeding efficiency and accelerate genetic improvement in our local cattle populations,” he said.
The minister said also that this is just a beginning, and that the state government is going to take more initiatives to bolster the animal husbandry sector to benefit enterprising young farmers in the days to come.
Union MoS for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Prof SP Singh Baghel, in a post on Facebook congratulated the department and said that this technology would accelerate the animal breed improvement process and increase dairy production.
