In the model factory at the national dairy research institute in Karnal students learn the ins and outs of running a dairy factory. |
India’s national dairy research institute, located in Karnal, is working to improve the milk production of the various buffalo and cow breeds. |
A desire to improve the quality of the Indian dairy livestock, of farm milk and its production, as well as of milk processing is the motivation that drives all the institute’s activities. ‘There’s still a long way to go,’ stresses Dr Sushil Kumar, the institute’s director. ‘Most Indian dairy farmers don’t keep their animals according to modern methods. We really need to mobilise them to apply new techniques. Scientific intervention is also needed to considerably improve milk production and quality. That is a gigantic operation because the majority of Indian milk is produced by small and marginal cattle farmers. We are talking about more than 70 million farmers spread throughout 600,000 villages.’
Cattle improvement
Improving the cattle stock is one of the NDRI’s key concerns. Kumar tells that the Indian cattle stock has to withstand extremes of climate. The north of India is known for its long droughts and exceptionally low temperatures in the winter and very high summer temperatures. The south of the country has a tropical climate. As well as unremitting high temperatures, the region has to contend with the monsoon period, which inevitably brings flooding. ‘Our dairy livestock is 52% buffalo. Those buffalo contribute 57% of the milk collection,’ Kumar explains. ‘The advantage of these animals is that they continue to give milk under extreme climate conditions and in the absence of feed. Moreover Buffalo produce milk with an average fat content of 7% and 3.75% to 4% protein. The best known buffalo breed is Tharparkar, which is found on the border between India and Pakistan. Their average annual production is between 900 and 1.750 litres. Under optimum conditions it can be as high as 2,334 litres.’
Another important buffalo breed is the Sahiwal, which is red and light brown in colour. The breed is kept in the states round New Delhi and to the north. On small farms, the Sahiwal produces an average of 1,350 kg milk per year. But in the larger cattle companies, the milk production runs at 2,000 to 2,500 kg. The advantage of this breed is that it can tolerate heat stress. A factor not to be underestimated given that it lives in regions where summer temperatures reach 50 degrees Celsius. At those times these animals find barely any water or feed and yet they continue to produce milk.
New breeds
When the conversation turns to cow breeds, Kumar starts by mentioning that dairy cows, whose milk has a 4% fat content and 3.5% protein, produce considerably less than the buffalo. In recent years the requisite foreign breeds have been introduced in India, mainly the Holstein Friesian, Jersey, Red Dane and Brown Swiss. The problem with these cows, however, is that under Indian conditions they don’t give enough milk. With a view to rapidly improving milk production, NDRI has succeeded in developing two new breeds, the Karan Swiss and the Karan Fries. The Karan Swiss is a cross between Brown Swiss bulls from Switzerland and the Sahiwal and Red Sindhi Zebu (humped) breeds. The Karan Swiss breed produces an average of 3,350 kg milk per year, while the record production for this breed stands at 7,096 kg. To develop the Karan Fries, the NDRI used the Tharparkar buffalo. They were artificially inseminated by Holstein Friesian bulls. The cows of this new breed are able to produce an average of 3,400 to 3,600 kg milk per year.
Broad activities
On the campus of this research station and adjoining university young scientists are training in animal husbandry and the dairy industry. Alongside them is another group of people keen to learn: dairy farmers. Here they can take courses to help them run their businesses along modern lines. Of particular interest to them is the institute’s model factory where 60,000 litres milk are processed daily into various sorts of pasteurised milk, ice cream and cheese. These products are sold to the Mother Dairy co-operative. But that is not the factory’s main aim. The most important aspect of this factory is that it is staffed by students from all over India. Under expert guidance they learn how to run a dairy factory.
Article from India Dossier, ZuivelZicht - 14 december 2005  |