Punjab?s plans to upgrade low-breeding indigenous buffalos are beginning to take shape. JK Trust and Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation (BAIF), two leading NGOs engaged by the state government to execute a project, have started the process of setting up integrated buffalo development centres (IBDCs) in the poorest parts of the state.

Approximately 225 rural youth, who are at least matriculates, have been selected by the NGOs. They will man the

IBDCs, which will be opened to provide doorstep services to dairy farmers for buffalo upgrade.

The Rs 47.820crore project, to be executed over the next five years, is being financed through the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). Punjab State Cooperative Milk Producers? Federation (Milkfed) is coordinating with the NGOs for implementing the project. The cooperative have signed MoUs with the NGOs.

For the first year, the state government has given Rs 6 crore to Milkfed for the project. Of this, the cooperative has given Rs 88 crore each to the NGOs as capital expenditure, training and survey for setting up the IBDCs.

JK Trust is executing the project in the villages of Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Ferozepur, and the water-logged areas of Muktsar. BAIF is covering the poor villages of Patiala, Sangrur, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur and parts of Ropar district.

Talking to FE, managing director of Milkfed, VK Singh, said the project is being carried out in the backward belts of the state. ?The purpose is to benefit small, marginal farmers and help them to augment their income through increased milk production of their buffalos. For this purpose, workers of the NGO will undertake artificial insemination (AI) of these indigenous buffalos with the semen of high-pedigree bulls. With sustained efforts in this field, the progeny of these buffalos will yield approximately 4,000 litres of more milk per lactation,? he said.

At present, these buffalos yield only 1,200 to 1,800 litre of milk per lactation, due to successive inbreeding.

In the first phase, 200 IBDCs are being opened in the target areas. After additional funds are made available through RKVY, 100 more centers will come up.

Singh said the two NGOs have recruited additional youth for carrying out the project since some of them are likely to drop out from the programme.

The youths are being given a four-month training in artificial insemination and other aspects of veterinary care, after which they will start work at the IBDCs.