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Cross Breeding of Indigenous Indian Cattle with 

Exotic Dairy Breeds for Improving Productivity and 

Increasing Milk Production: A Short Review
By 
Dr. M. P. G. Kurup

Background

Cross breeding of Indian cattle with exotic dairy breeds was a practice very much in vogue even in the late 19th century, promoted by sundry British Civil Servants and Colonial Planters; and there were a few pockets with high yielding cross bred cows in colonial India. With the advent of artificial insemination and the limited introduction of cross breeding (1961) in the hill areas by the government of India, official policy started recognising cross breeding of cattle with European donor breeds, as a possible option for improving milk production. Several on-farm bilateral cross breeding projects in collaboration with external agencies (UNDP Project in Haringhatta, West Bengal; Indo-Danish Project in Hasserghatta, Karnataka; Indo-Swiss Project in Mattupatty, Kerala and the Indo-German Project in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh) were established in the early sixties, to study the potential of the strategy and to quickly evaluate its impact on milk production and sustainability, under Indian conditions. 

Cross breeding of nondescript Indian cattle on field scale started in 1964 with the launch of the intensive cattle development projects (ICDP) of the government of India and by 1969 it became the official policy of the government for increasing milk production. The pioneering work on large scale cross breeding in different parts of India by the Bharathiya Agro-Industries Foundation (BAIF) all through the seventies, validated the positive impact of cross breeding on milk production; and the unequivocal recommendation of the National Commission on Agriculture (NCA) in 1974 that cross breeding should be a major strategy for increasing milk production in India, laid all adverse criticism to rest and legitimised cross breeding as a powerful tool to rapidly enhance milk production. Cross breeding gained momentum and economic relevance in the mid seventies, as the extensive dairy cooperative network under Operation Flood, moved in to provide the market stimulus and the much needed price support for milk.

The technical programme for cross breeding prescribed by the government of India targeted the nondescript cattle as the foundation stock, to breed them with exotic donor breeds once, to produce half-breds: with equal inheritance from the two widely different parents, one contributing endurance and the other, the much needed higher productivity. The policy thereafter, was to breed the half-bred progenies among themselves inter se in subsequent generations, to create large intermating populations of half-breds, perpetually maintaining the share of inheritance half way between the Indian and the Exotic parents. Genetic progress in the intermating populations was to be maintained and promoted through use of genetically evaluated half bred sires for the inter se matings. The exotic donor breeds used initially were Jersey, Brown Swiss, Red Dane and Holstein Friesian. The choice of the exotic donor has now narrowed down to Jersey and Holstein - with Holstein predominating the market by popular choice.

The governments had no intention to crossbreed pure Indian breeds of cattle. But in actual practice, the spectacular increases in milk yields in the cross bred progenies generated overwhelming demand for crossbred cattle from the farming community almost all over India and necessitated the expansion of the programme nation wide - even to the home tracts of the pure Indian breeds. While most states had been totally indifferent in managing the breeding policy as prescribed and while no attempt was made by most states to produce proven half-bred bulls, Kerala followed the policy strictly and used progeny tested cross-bred bulls for inter se mating, with commendable achievements ( Sunandini: a new breed of over a million high yielding cattle). Punjab had completely deviated from the central prescription and had followed a policy of its own, for progressive grading up of the local cattle with Holsteins, taking into account the quality of farmers in Punjab and the resources available in the state. Several years of implementing this policy have endowed Punjab with a highly productive population of cross bred cattle, closer to the Holstein both in production traits and in appearance.

In the absence of evaluated half bred bulls, inter se mating in many states ran into disrepute, as progenies in successive generations were reported to be producing yields far below the expected levels and by the nineties, the whole of the crossbreeding programme came to be regarded by many as a very expensive misadventure, unsuitable to the farming systems in the country and causing enormous health and management problems to the small holder producers. A comprehensive review of the problems and prospects of cross breeding as a strategy for milk production enhancement in India, or of the strategy's continued relevance, has not been carried out so far, even though the country now has considerable experience on both the advantages and problems of cross breds across a widely different geographical and social strata. 

Situation Analysis 

After the initial slow start during the sixties, cross breeding spread all over the country like wild fire and in its wake has also brought in problems of over zealous application and issues related to sustainability. The breeding policy prescribed by the government of India was scientifically and environmentally appropriate, but the application of the policy was universally mismanaged by all most all states except Kerala, parts of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Census enumeration of cross breds separately, started only with the 1982 census round. Successive rounds of livestock census thereafter clearly established the speed with which cross breeding spread in different states across the country. 

The demand for cross breeding of cattle is high in all states except Rajastan and Gujarat, where the agro-climatic conditions are extremely adverse for cross bred cattle. The governments of Rajastan and Gujarat are also reluctant to promote cross breeding of cattle in these states as the indigenous breeds in Rajastan and Gujarat are some of the best dairy and draught breeds in India and have immense scope for development through selective breeding among themselves. In states like Kerala and Punjab, cross bred cattle has virtually replaced the indigenous cattle and now account for 70 per cent of the breedable female cattle population in Kerala and 80 per cent in Punjab (livestock census 1997). The other states with large cross bred populations are : Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and West Bengal, though breedable female cross breds account for less than 10 per cent of total breedable female in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Female among cross bred cattle are growing at the rate of almost 10 per cent per annum (1999). The rate of growth (see table no.2) would have been much higher had the AI Service in India been of better quality: 85 per cent of the total 24.5 mln AI in 1999 was for generating cross breds (as in the previous years since 1980), but they result in less than 10 per cent (?) pregnancies and even less in terms of calves born. As there is no direct measurement of the results of AI in India, the number of calves born to AI is any body's guess. However the livestock census enumeration of the cross bred cattle is a fair estimation of the success of AI for cross breeding: between 1987-'92 the total number of AI for cross breeding was around 50 mln and the incremental cross bred population between 1987-'92 was only some 3.81 mln: some 7.62 per cent of AI resulting in a cross bred calf. It is true that the incremental cross bred numbers per census round would have been higher and hence the per cent of successful AI, if cross bred male had the same potential for survival. (This would however improve the success rate of AI only marginally). 

Average Milk Yields of random samples of large numbers of cross bred cows in milk producer households, from 6 states representing different regions in the country (see table no.3) are uniformly high, consistent with expectations and show no influence of the region on the levels of production. Barring Kerala, none of these states had adhered to the prescribed breeding policy, nor have they used progeny tested bulls for inter se mating of the half-breds (in most states listed they have forward crossed the cross breds to the exotic donor breed). 

In Punjab and Haryana the standard breeding policy followed for cross breds is forward crossing, progressively increasing the exotic inheritance in the cross bred populations and they seem none too worse for the higher exotic inheritance : in fact it appears that milk yield levels progressively increase with the increasing exotic blood levels : Lactation Milk Yield in 1977-'78 (when most of them were half-breds) in Haryana, was : 2028 kg and in 1995-'96 : 2425 kg, when most cross breds were around 5/8th exotic (NDRI : DESM 1998). Extensive field studies carried out by the Dairy Economics Department of the NDRI also show that the type of farmer / landholding category too have little influence on performance levels of cross bred cows, both in the specific as well as general production traits.

While it is true that the production and performance of cross bred cows are along expected lines all over the country, there are no field data available anywhere in India to show that steady growth in production parameters can be brought about in inter se mating cross bred populations, except from Kerala. Kerala started with cross breeding of the local scrub cows as early as 1965, followed a breeding policy consistent with the national policy and also initiated in 1977 a systematic programme for producing genetically evaluated (progeny tested) cross bred bulls for AI and inter se mating. The results of this breeding programme vividly demonstrate that with proper selection, progressive genetic improvement can be sustained in inter mating crossbred populations.

Data on Mean Standard First Lactation Milk Yield of over 30000 test daughters, spread over 25 years in Kerala, is presented in table no.6. The steadily increasing milk yield of test daughters is a measure of the genetic progress in the population. Milk yield, as well known, is an additively genetic trait with thousands of gene pairs interacting in its inheritance and expression. Therefore heterosis has very little role to play in the milk production performance of these inter se mating populations.

The behaviour of the Sunandini cows (institutional herds) in Kerala with regard to the non-additively inherited traits: General Production Traits like Age at First Calving, Calving Interval and Service Period, show higher variance over several generations of inter se mating, but no decline of the mean values. While some heterosis effect is visible in these traits, they also show the impact of selection mitigating the heterosis effect.

Milk production in India takes place in millions of small holdings scattered across the length and breadth of the country (over 70 mln small, marginal and landless holdings). The vast majority of these holdings are mixed crop livestock farming systems. It is a well known fact that the marginal and small holders constitute the core milk production group in India and that together with the landless they own over 68 -70 per cent of all milch animals. What is not so well known is that this group also happens to own over 78 per cent of the cross bred milch animals in the country (1992). 

In conclusion, all available field data on the distribution and performance of cross bred cows across India effectively refutes much of the criticism (most of it armchair though) levelled against cross breeding and support it as a safe, sound and sustainable strategy for increasing milk production in the country. These data also bring into critical focus some startling facts:

1. Cross Bred Female (Milch Animals) numbers are growing at the rate of some 10 per cent per annum, entirely demand driven ; and their numbers would have been far higher, had AI in India resulted in better conception and calving rates.

2. Demand for cross bred cows is highest among the landless, marginal and small holders and in 1992 nearly 80 per cent of the cross bred milch animals in the country were held by the marginal and small holders (the core milk production group) and the landless.

3. Performance of cross bred cows country wide are along expected levels and regions / farmer type / land holding category, apparently have little influence on their performance level, for specific as well as general production traits.

4. Breeding policy for cross breds: inter se mating or forward crossing does not seem to have had much influence on their performance levels.

5. Selection (use of progeny tested sires and culling of inferior genotypes) promotes genetic progress in the population and exerts positive influence on production traits, with steady improvement in all production traits, both specific and general.

Need for the Review

Three decades after the large scale use of cross breeding as a strategy for increasing milk production in India, concerns about the suitability and sustainability of the strategy is still debated in the country inconclusively. Often the debate is based on sociological concerns, or on micro studies, individual case studies or in some cases studies on institutional data from small and badly managed herds; and are in most cases sweeping generalisations based on partial analysis. A comprehensive economic review of the strategy and a socio-economic analysis of the impact of the strategy on the national economy (at the macro as well as micro level); have not been carried out so far. From the analysis in the foregoing pages it appears that most of the criticism is unjustified and that problems if any are grossly exaggerated. 

At the turn of the century, with demand of milk projected between 145-185 mln mt by 2020, India has to plan for a virtual doubling of the milk output within the next 20 years. Policies, strategies and action plans necessary to achieve such production targets must be based on a realistic assessment of the options available for production enhancement; and cross breeding happens to be one of the most promising options for it. A comprehensive review; and a social & economic analysis of all aspects of cross breeding based on the past three decades of experience, should therefore be the point of departure for strategic planning for the next two or three decades.

Objectives of the Review

1. Assess the Social & Macroeconomic Impact of Cross Breeding of Indigenous Cattle as a Strategy for Increasing Milk Production in the Country.

2. Analyse the distribution of Cross Breds in the different states and their holding pattern in different landholding categories (including landless) within states.

3. Examine the livelihood dimensions of crossbreeding and analyse its social and economic implications at the household level.

4. Assess the environmental dimensions of cross breeding and quantify the impact of the strategy, positive as well as negative, if any.

Authors Corresponding address: 

Dr. M. P. G. Kurup 
Consultant (Livestock & Dairy), New Delhi
e-mail: mpgkurup@yahoo.com 

The views expressed in this article are of the author(s), and any clarifications can be obtained from the author(s).