Immense possibilities of increasing calf population using IVF tech: Rupala

Union Minister Parshottam Rupala on Friday said that cattle breeders using in vitro fertilisation to maximize pregnancy rates have immense possibilities of revenue generation.

New Delhi: Union Minister Parshottam Rupala on Friday said there are immense possibilities of revenue generation and a sustainable model of production of calves through IVF technology.

Cattle breeders are using in vitro fertilisation (IVF) to maximize pregnancy rates. This is the process of harvesting oocytes from donor cows and creating embryos by fertilising the oocytes with semen. The embryo is then implanted into a recipient or surrogate cow.

During his visit to JK Trust BovaGenix in Pune, the Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying met two Sahiwal mother cows Samadhi and Gauri who have given birth to 100 and 125 calves, respectively.

"Each calf was sold at the cost of Rs 1 lakh. Hence, I am told that these two mother cows have generated an income of approximately Rs 1 crore in a year to the JK BovaGenix," an official statement quoted the minister as saying during his visit.

He also underlined the immense possibilities of revenue generation and a sustainable model of production of calves through IVF technology, the statement added.

JK BovaGenix is the first IVF Centre that has produced the first IVF Banni calf in the country.

On the occasion, the minister also had a first-hand visual experience of the extraction of Oocytes from a Sahiwal breed cow at the Dr Vijaypat Singhania Centre of Excellence for Assisted Reproductive Technologies in Livestock.

The JK BovaGenix is an initiative of the JK trust. The trust has introduced IVF and ET Technologies for the multiplication of genetically superior cows and buffaloes with a focus on selected indigenous cattle breeds.

PTI