Bulls a big biz for farmers

Ravinder Saini in Jhajjar

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Those associated with agriculture know this too well: the crucial engine of Indian economic growth is passing through a phase of declining returns. Yet, its sub-sector animal husbandry is turning out a money-spinner for many farmers, especially those associated with selling livestock of quality breed and bulls’ semen. This was evident from the three-day annual Haryana livestock fair that began on October 27 under the aegis of the state government.

Farmers are getting attractive returns ranging between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 85 lakh per year. Their animals have also earned popularity for quality germ-plasm. The bulls’ semen is used to improve the breed quality.

Life of Pawan from Kungru village (Bhiwani) changed when he began selling semen of his murrah bull Arjun in 2013 in Punjab for improving the cattle breed. “I had taken Arjun to Muktsar (Punjab) for a fair where locals demanded the bull’s semen and persuaded me to sell. Now I am earning around Rs 20 lakh per year through trading of quality breed animals and their semen,” says Pawan. He says before he started his trade, he was struggling to make ends meet through selling local bulls, buffaloes and cows. 

He says his two murrah bulls — Arjun and Bhim — have won cash prizes in many national-level livestock competitions. “We get semen of our bulls prepared from a UP-based private agency after performing all required medical tests on the bulls. The bulls are kept five months there in a year for the procedure,” says Pawan.

Similar is the story of Narender Singh of Didwadi village (Panipat). He got a job of panchayat secretary in 1994, but his keen interest was in animal husbandry. In 2002, he bought a murraf buffalo which yielded 29 kg milk per day.  “I did not know about the semen business before buying a murrah bull for Rs 1.5 lakh in 2004. By winning prizes at various livestock fairs, the bull drew the attention of veterinary doctors who motivated me to sell its semen,” says Narendra.

“At present, I rear six bulls of various breeds and over 100 buffaloes for dairy farming. I also trade quality breed buffaloes — one of them was sold for Rs 27 lak in 2013. My annual turnover from dairy farming, trade in buffaloes and bulls’ semen is over 84 lakh and,” says Narendra. 

Kapoor Singh of Singhwa Khas (Hisar) claims to earn Rs 80 lakh annually by using sperm of his murrah bull Heera. This bull is the progeny of ‘Lakshmi’ buffalo which shot into limelight in 2013 when she made a record by producing 30 kg milk in a day. Lakshmi was later bought by Andhra Pradesh-based dairy farmer for Rs 25 lakh.

“The National Diary Development Board (NDDB), Gujarat, has adopted Heera for using its sperm to improve the quality of Murrah buffalo under a World-Bank-funded project. The bull generates nearly 3,000 doses of semen in a month. The NDDB gives us 1,500 straws each month and the price is Rs 300 per dose. Besides it, we also sell progeny of quality breed buffaloes and bulls,” said Kapoor.

“A huge amount is spent on Heera's diet, which eats 8 kg cattle feed and drinks 7 liters milk and 250 gram ghee in a day. Even, it is also given special massage to keep it healthy” he says.