Subsidised sex-sorted semen scheme to boost dairy prospects
VIZIANAGARAM: In a significant move to improve milk production by increasing the number of female calves, the Andhra Pradesh Livestock Development Agency (APLDA) is going to supply Sex Sorted Semen (SSS) at a 70% subsidy from July 1 to dairy farmers under the Accelerated Breed Improvement Programme (ABIP).
“Use of sex sorted semen will be a game changer not only for enhancing milk production but also limiting the stray cattle population,” Joint Director of Animal Husbandry, Dr YV Ramana, told TNIE.
Conventional artificial insemination offers only a 50% chance of producing female calves, while sex-sorted semen raises that probability to over 90%. These high genetic merit calves also promise higher milk yields. Vizianagaram has about 3.06 lakh breedable livestock, of which nearly 60% go through heat cycles annually. The department conducts about 2.2 lakh inseminations a year, resulting in around 83,000 calves.
The rising number of male calves has become a burden for farmers, as they are no longer useful for farm work due to mechanisation and incur unnecessary feeding costs. With the advent of modern equipment such as tractors and power tillers, the need for bulls has come down significantly.
To address the growing dairy needs and tackle the stray cattle menace on the streets, the Union government launched the use of SSS under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission. Since then, APLDA has been promoting its use across the district. Farmers can access SSS for Rs 150, while it costs around 500 privately, after registering their cattle on the Bharat Pashudhan App. So far, about 7,000 inseminations using SSS have been recorded.
“We are targeting a 15% increase in milk production as part of the Swarnandhra 2047 vision,” Ramana told TNIE.
“I appeal to farmers to make full use of this opportunity to enhance both milk output and the female cattle population,” he added.