India to set up four animal breeding centers

NEW DELHI, 08 January 2019 : In order to further develop its indigenous cattle breeds, India is looking towards Brazil's genomic chips technology for enhancing production and productivity.

This was revealed by Indian agriculture minister, Radha Mohan Singh after meeting a 5-member delegation from Brazil led by Dr. Jose Ribamar Felipe Marques, Director, Buffalo Research and Development, Brazil in New Delhi today.

The minister said that India will be seeking help of Brazil will be sought in Embryo transfer technology (ETT) , promotion of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), sex-sorted semen production

The main objective of this meeting was to promote technical cooperation between India and Brazil for the rapid growth of the production and productivity of indigenous breeds, the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

Singh also said that in the latest development in breeding techniques, four animal breeding Centers of Excellence (COE) are being set up for ETT, IVF, sex-sorted semen, genomics and training of skilled manpower.

These centers will not only serve as training centers but also work as centers of research and development. Germplasm produced at these centers will be made available to all the states, the minister added.

Two Excellence Centers in Kalsi Uttarakhand and Central Agricultural University, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Motihari are being established with the help of Brazil.

Singh said that by adopting modern breeding technologies and implementing scientific breeding programs, Brazil has achieved an increase in the productivity of indigenous breeds of India. In this way, genomic chips developed by Brazil can be very useful for implementing genomic selection for our indigenous breeds.

Of Indian indigenous breeds, and training of professionals in the country so that the production and productivity of indigenous breeds can be increased rapidly.