The country?s quest to significantly increase milk production with higher milk-yielding buffaloes received a huge boost when scientists at Karnal-based National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) on Thursday claimed that they have cloned the world?s first buffalo calf using a technique more advanced than the one used in cloning the sheep ?Dolly?.
However, AK Srivastava, director, NDRI, told FE that ?the female calf had died due to pneumonia six days after its birth?. Earlier in the day, scientists at the NDRI?s Animal Biotechnology Centre said that the cloned buffalo calf had been developed through a ?hand-guided cloning technology?, which was much simpler than the conventional cloning technique, which entails use of sophisticated technology. Srivastava also said that ?there was no problem with the cloning technology used and more calves would be born through cloning over the next few months?. He termed the experiment as a ?temporary set back?.
?The new technique is less demanding in terms of equipment, time and skill,? a statement by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), which administers NDRI, said. The statement also said that one of the biggest advantages of the new technique is that the calf of ?desired sex? could be obtained.
?We are sure that the cloning technology is going to boost milk production in the long run through better identification of buffalo breeds,? Srivastava said.
KM Bujarbaruah, deputy director general, animal science, ICAR, also stressed that there was an acute shortage of prime stud buffalo bulls and the technology of hand-guided cloning could permanently remove this hurdle. India, which is home to more than 56% of the global buffalo population, suffers from the scarcity of superior quality of breeds, which poses immense challenges in substantially increasing the country?s milk production.
According to ICAR, out around 100 million livestock in the country, 47 million are buffaloes, 11 million are cross-breed and 45 million belong to indigenous cattle breeds.
The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), a key player in the dairy sector said that the country needed to raise milk production from 104 million tonne at present to around 180 million tonne by 2021-22. Amrita Patel, chairman, NDDB, called for a national scientifically planned breeding programme with focus on creating superior quality of stud bulls. ?The cloning of the buffalo would go a long way in creating higher milk-yielding varieties so that the milk production would be substantially augmented,? CS Prasad, assisstant director general, ICAR, said.