Increase in Rashtriya Gokul Mission outlay raises ryots’ hopes

Forum seeks an integrated indigenous cattle breeding centre in Prakasam

A youth showcases the beauty of majestic Ongole bull for racing at Kothapatnam village in Prakasam district.

The Ongole breed of cattle had been flourishing between Gundalakamma and Musi rivers in Prakasam district in the past.

But the highly productive cows and bulls are on the verge of becoming extinct here while some of the well-bred cattle had turned a money-spinner for farmers in Brazil.

Now the farmers see a ray of hope with the Centre doubling the allocation to over ₹750 crore for the Rashtriya Gokul Mission(RGM) in the Central budget for protecting and promoting the indigenous breeds.

The Narendra Modi government should immediately sanction an integrated indigenous cattle breeding centre in Prakasam district to promote high genetic merit Ongole breed of cattle and facilitate setting up of breeders’ societies, Prakasam District Development Forum(PDDF) president Ch.Ranga Rao said. The working of the state-run farms at Chadalawada, Chintaldevi and LAM farm was far from desired, he said.

The government should latch on to the offer by the Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) to provide technical support to elite cattle to arrest the fall in the number of pure breed of Ongole cattle, said an elite farmer from Podili, Sangala Venkateswara Reddy, who has a passion for rearing racing bulls.

Remunerative price

While the average farmer had switched over to tractors, elite farmers still rear the bulls with superior genetic features to take part in racing events held in rural Prakasam from time to time. The superior bulls raised by elite farmers fetch up to ₹40 lakh per animal, said P. Seshadri Chowdary, another breeder from N.G.Padu village. The amount spent on promotion of native breeds was far less compared to the allocation made each year, observed Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham district secretary Vadde Hanuma Reddy. The self-styled ‘Go Rakshaks’ had hurt the dairy farmers saddled with unproductive cattle, he felt.

He said that ₹6,000 announced for farmers with less than two hectares as too meagre. “What the farmer needed the most is remunerative price for their produce,” he said, adding that when this was ensured there would be no need for loan waiver or farm subsidies.

The market prices for most crops ruled below minimum support price, while the agreement between farmers and paper mills brokered by the State government was followed more in breach than in practice, he lamented.