Milch animals to get ‘Aadhaar like’ ID tags in Ludhiana

Milch animals will soon be getting ID cards on the lines of Aadhaar Cards, which will allow the animal husbandry department to track their vaccination, history, breeding cycle and milk production.

The pilot project, under the National Digital Livestock Mission, is already underway in Uttarakhand and Karnataka. Animal husbandry commissioner Dr Praveen Malik, who was in Jagraon to attend a fair organised by the progressive dairy farmer association, said, “Unique identification will allow us to track the overall production pattern of cows, and buffaloes, which is vital for business and planning.”

Recently, the Union minister of state fisheries, animal husbandry and dairy Parshottam Rupala had unveiled the National Digital Livestock Mission (NDLM) blueprint at the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

Malik said that the central government had taken many initiatives, but departments in the state should also make full use of these policies.

Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University vice-chancellor Inderjeet Singh said, “There are an estimated 65 lakh cows and buffaloes in the state. The Aadhaar-based tagging of these animals will help us in maintain a record of their vaccination, insemination, and milk and also help us detect outbreaks.”

“The dairy sector in the United States and New Zealand flourished only after livestock was linked with the digital network and the government got the record of animals as it helped them maintain the quality of the breed,” said Singh.

Progressive Dairy Farmers’ Association president Daljit Singh Sadarpur says there is a trust deficit among dairy farmers. “Many farmers nurse a misconception that the government would keep a check on their livestock to assess their earnings, which is why farmers are not getting their livestock registered,” said Sadarpura.

Guru Angad Dev Veterinary And Animal Sciences University vice-chancellor Inderjeet Singh was elected president of the Indian Society for Buffalo Development on Monday, while GADVASU college of veterinary science secretary SPS Ghuman is the new secretary.

Inderjeet Singh, who is famous as the Murrah Man, will succeed SS Dahiya. The society was registered in 1987 to advance all aspects of buffalo production at farms and institutes, and has around 1,700 registered members.

A Holstein-Friesian (HF) cow, which produced 63.80g won the maximum milk-production contest. Chaman Singh was the owner of the cow. Among Jersey cattle, Amarjeet Singh Cheema’s cow won the contest after producing 46.7g of milk, while among Murrah buffalo’s Pardeep Singh’s cow took the first spot with 27.2g milk.