NDRI takes step towards sustainability, ties up with US university to reduce emission

In a major step towards environmental sustainability, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) has joined hands with Cornell University, United States of America (USA), to enhance milk productivity and reduce methane emission of livestock. A research team from the university visited the NDRI and shared the future line of work with its faculty.

As per scientists, emission of methane is still a worry as livestock contribute both directly and indirectly to climate change through emissions of greenhouse gases such as methane.

Dr Joseph W McFadden from Cornell University presented his research on accelerating livestock innovations aimed at enhancing sustainability and improving milk production efficiency in India.

Cornell team comes calling

1. A research team from Cornell University visited the NDRI and shared the future line of work with its faculty

2.  Livestock contribute both directly and indirectly to climate change through emissions of greenhouse gases, such as methane

3.  The institute maintains a herd of 1,076 dairy animals and operates a commercial dairy plant with a capacity of 10,000 litres of milk per day

He expressed keen interest in collaborating with the NDRI team, acknowledging India as a global leader in milk production with valuable indigenous breeds that demonstrate resilience to climate change and disease.

“Our primary research areas include enhancing milk production, methane reduction, improving efficiency in smallholder dairy systems, efficient manure management, environmental monitoring and sensor technologies for animal welfare,” said Dr McFadden.

Dr Dheer Singh, Director-cum-Vice-Chancellor, NDRI, delivered a comprehensive presentation highlighting the institute’s contributions over the past 103 years.

“The NDRI has made remarkable progress in milk production, research and extension activities, while also providing high-quality education to over 1,000 students enrolled in Bachelor of Dairy and Food Technology, Master’s, and PhD programmes across 14 disciplines,” said Dr Singh.

Notably, more than 43 per cent of students at the NDRI are female. The institute maintains a herd of 1,076 dairy animals and operates a commercial dairy plant with a capacity of 10,000 litres of milk per day. Dr Singh further emphasised on the NDRI’s pioneering achievements in animal cloning and genome editing, as well as ongoing work on indigenous sexed semen technology. Research efforts also include buffalo estrus detection by saliva and the development of lateral flow assays for various milk and dairy products. Till date, the NDRI has filed 107 patents, of which 56 have been granted.

Dr Sachin from the Animal Nutrition Division of the NDRI presented details of a research project valued at around Rs 1.20 crore to develop a feed library and nutrition models of the rumen, which will be conducted in collaboration with Cornell University.

Dr Rajan Sharma, Joint Director (Research), affirmed that the NDRI was open to further research collaborations with Cornell University. The visiting team later toured the Animal Biotechnology Centre, Animal Breeding Centre and Livestock Centre at the NDRI.