Relevant for prelims and GS paper 3 (Science and technology
The globally popular Ongole cattle breed stands neglected in the country, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu has said.
The indigenous Ongole breed should be protected and promoted, Naidu said, while releasing a compendium on the animal at the Swarna Bharat Trust in Vijayawada today.
Naidu said cattle wealth is national wealth and pointed out that Brazil, which has imported these cattle and produced hybrid Ongoles, is earning huge revenue by exporting them. “Unfortunately, India is not focusing enough attention on our own breed,” he said.
The Vice-President said the time has come for promoting Ongole cattle breed in a big way and also take up research on the animal, which is known for its toughness, high milk yield, tolerance to tropical heat and disease resistance.
The 1,200-page compendium traces the history of the animal from 1885 to 2016 by providing information from 13 books and 80 research findings on Ongole cattle. Ongole is a place in Andhra Pradesh.
The book is the joint work of agricultural scientist Mullapudi Narendranath and former Joint Director of Animal Husbandry Department Adusumilli Madhusudan Rao, who were felicitated by the Vice-President.
Observing that agriculture was facing many challenges, the Vice-President stressed the need for multi-pronged efforts from all stakeholders to double the income of farmers by making agriculture sustainable and profitable. He urged farmers to take up backyard poultry and in-house dairy farming for additional income.