Proud owner of 45 Nili-Ravi buffaloes, woman wants daughter to follow path

Daljit Kaur Toor, a resident of Khosa Kotla village near Moga, is a proud owner of over 45 Nili-Ravi buffaloes — a breed largely found in Pakistan and the bordering villages of Punjab. An entrepreneur in her own right, she is also a recipient of the Chief Minister’s Award for her exceptional work in dairy farming, especially for breeding the Nili-Ravi buffalo.

Sharing her journey with The Tribune, Daljit Kaur said with guidance and suggestions from scientists at GADVASU, she managed to develop 20-25 purebred Nili-Ravi buffaloes. “I had also purchased buffaloes that had one or two teats and were old. But through artificial insemination and crossing them with a young male purebred Nili Rav bull, we were able to get a new flock. This breed is known for a high yield are preferred in rural farming,” Kaur said, adding that she never worries about the quantity of milk. For her, preserving the purity of the breed is the top priority.

Daljit Kaur recalled that when she was in Class VII, she would watch her father milking cows and buffaloes, and gradually picked up the skill herself. “There was no looking back,” she said. After marriage, she began taking care of a few buffaloes, eventually deciding to expand the business. She underwent formal training in cattle management from GADVASU experts. Today, the approximate value of her dairy farm stands at around Rs 80-90 lakh, as purebred animals are highly expensive.

She disapproves of the practice of injecting animals to increase milk yield. “This is absolutely uncalled for. Let the cow or buffalo give milk as per its natural capacity. Injections may increase yield but they cause serious harm to the animal,” Kaur said. Her teenage daughter wholeheartedly supports her mother’s dairy farm.

Commenting on Nili Ravi, Dr Ravinder Singh Grewal, Director Extension Education, GADVASU, said the state government and the vet varsity were working on promoting the breed in Punjab. “If we talk about the purebred, there must be a population of about 80,000-90,000 Nili Ravi buffaloes in Punjab. But it is not that only Nili Ravi population is decreasing, buffaloes on the whole are being replaced by cows in commercial farming. As per a census in 2019, there were a total of 40 lakh buffaloes in Punjab which came down to 34 lakh in 2024-25. The Animal Husbandry Department in Tarn Taran and GADVASU are doing regular research giving the breed a much-needed boost,” Dr Grewal said.