Ajayan, a poultry farmer from Palakakd speaks on the main issues in farming | Mannira

ഇറച്ചിക്കോഴി വളര്‍ത്തലിന്റെ വ്യവസായ സാധ്യതകളും പ്രതിസന്ധികളും മേഖലയിലെ സംരംഭകനായ അജയന്‍ 'മണ്ണിര'യോട് വിവരിക്കുന്നു.

Read more: http://mannira.in/kerala-poultry-farm...

To read more agriculture stories visit: http://mannira.in/ Mannira.in, an online Malayalam agricultural web portal launched to target Malayali readers across the world.

The website aiming to feature farmers and various farming practices of India alongside bridging the gap between the diverse farmers and modern-farming.

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manniraweb/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mannira_in

Stephen Cyril shares his experience on lake Karimeen Farming with Mannira

Lake Karimeen Farmer from Munroe Island Stephen Cyril shares his farming experience with Team Mannira. Read more: http://mannira.in/karimeen-farming/

To read more agriculture stories visit: http://mannira.in/

Mannira.in, an online Malayalam agricultural web portal launched to target Malayali readers across the world. The website aiming to feature farmers and various farming practices of India alongside bridging the gap between the diverse farmers and modern-farming.

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manniraweb/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mannira_in

How to cultivate and utilise Malberry - Malberry farming in Tamilnadu

Malberry farmer from Tamilnadu explains the process of cultivation to Mannira.

To read more agriculture stories visit: http://mannira.in/

Mannira.in, an online Malayalam agricultural web portal launched to target Malayali readers across the world. The website aiming to feature farmers and various farming practices of India alongside bridging the gap between the diverse farmers and modern-farming.

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manniraweb/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mannira_in

Chandra Mishra on agrarian crisis | Mannira Interview

Chandra Mishra, activist and campaigner for right employment policy (No Job No Vote) voice his opinion on various issues connected to India's agriculture sector. Read more: http://mannira.in/interview-chandra-m...

To read more agriculture stories visit: http://mannira.in/

Mannira.in, an online Malayalam agricultural web portal launched to target Malayali readers across the world. The website aiming to feature farmers and various farming practices of India alongside bridging the gap between the diverse farmers and modern-farming.

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manniraweb/

Krishi Mela 2017 - Bangalore

Organised by University of Agricultural Sciences (Gandhi Krishi Vignan Kendra) in association with Government of Karnataka.

To read more agriculture stories visit: http://mannira.in/ Mannira.in, an online Malayalam agricultural web portal launched to target Malayali readers across the world. The website aiming to feature farmers and various farming practices of India alongside bridging the gap between the diverse farmers and modern-farming.

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manniraweb/

[Part 1] Nelore: How a Telugu Cattle Breed Transformed Brazil

India is famous as the land of cattle. There are innumerable breeds of cattle to be found in South Asia. Some communities, such as upper caste Hindus and Jains consider the cow sacred (or taboo) and avoid its flesh at all costs. Others, like the Adivasis, Dalits, Muslims and Christians have no such compunctions. South Asian cattle, unlike their European counterparts, are the result of a separate domestication event. The former are known as ‘Indicine Cattle’ (Bos primigenus indicus) and are descendants of the South Asian subspecies of Auroch (Bos primigenus). The latter are called ‘Taurine Cattle’ (Bos primigenus taurus) and are descended from the Eurasian subspecies. The most widely used name for Indicine Cattle is Zebu.
Zebu breeds were imported from South Asia by a number of countries across the world in order to create new varieties, more suited to hot climates, with greater resistance to disease, the ability to survive on low quality fodder, and flourish without round-the-clock human supervision. In short, cattle that were tough and prolific in the tropics. Several breeds were shipped from the subcontinent to South America, Africa and Australia. But none managed the miracle that was achieved by a breed raised by the Telugu farmers of South India. I am talking about the Nelore or Ongole breed which triggered a revolution of sorts in Brazil.
‘Nelore’ is the name given to the breed by foreigners. It is derived from the name of the district (in the erstwhile Madras Presidency of British India) where the cattle were found – Nellore. I too hail from the city of Nellore (the administrative centre of the District). One of the ‘l’s in the name was lost over time, giving rise to the current spelling. In the country of its origin, they go by the name ‘Ongole’, after the Ongole Taluka (around the city of Ongole, 132 km north of Nellore), from where the best specimens were obtained. Like all Zebu breeds,  Ongoles have a hump on their shoulders. This is how a report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) describes the breed:

Like most livestock breeds around the world, the Ongoles take their name from the region of their main breeding area – the Ongole Taluka. Until 1904, this tract was in the Nellore District; hence the breed was called “Nellore” by foreigners. However, the natives always called them Ongole after the region in which they are predominantly bred.
There is no clear picture of the various stages that went into the making of this breed of cattle. Carvings of the Nandhi bull, which adorn Hindu Sivaite temples in India, bear a true resemblance to the Ongole. From this it can be seen that the characteristics of this breed were fairly fixed even at the beginning of recorded history.
The Ongoles are very fine and majestic-looking cattle, huge in size, extremely docile and suitable for steady, heavy draught. Their performance has been admirable under varying conditions and they are one of the most unique triple-purpose cattle of the tropics, serving well as draught, milk and meat animals. By virtue of their adaptability traits and superior productive capacity under harsh tropical conditions, they have been very much sought after and beneficial in tropical cattle production.
The best Ongoles in India have been bred in those parts where there has been no assured irrigation or commercial crops, leaving cattle raising as the only profitable proposition since, under these conditions, the dependence on crops or cultivation has not been economically viable. Instead, the Ongoles have brought income through the sale of young bull calves and ghee (clarified butter) made from their milk.

It also provides a clue about the importance of the breed to the local economy. Given below is an early British account of the variety:

The earliest published description of the Ongole cattle available is that in Short (1885). According to Dr John Short: “The breed of cattle from [Nellore] has also been long celebrated, not so much as draught cattle as for the milking qualities of the females, for which purpose Nellore cows are greatly esteemed-and fetch large prices.
A good specimen of the Nellore breed is a huge animal standing from 15 to 17 hands in height, with a noble but heavy look […] their power of draught and spirit of endurance are great, they are generally docile and slow in movements, and from their form and horns, are readily recognized. The horns are short and stumpy, barely 3 to 6 inches in length, and never, unless in exceptional instances, exceeding 12 inches – inclined outwards, tapering to a blunt point. Countenance, dull; eyes, large, prominent and heavy looking; face, short with greater breadth of forehead and muzzle, large lop ears; eyes, hoof and tail tuft, black; head, erect and well carried on a short stout neck rising over the withers into a huge hump which frequently inclines to one side; back, short and straight; tail, high and well set; a fair depth and width of chest; carcass, compact and solid looking, with a large dewlap; legs, clean but massive, straight and fairly apart to support the carcass; skin, fine and covered with soft, short hair; prevailing colour, white. From their docility, the nose string is seldom used. They are noble and handsome looking animals, but there is a tendency in the breed to grow tall and leggy with a spare light carcass. Their powers of draught are great, and when well bred they draw much heavier loads than most other breeds, from 1 500 to 2 000 pounds on a fair road. They are chiefly used for draught in carts and with the plough, their-weight and size being against their use as pack bullocks generally.
The cows, as has been said, are excellent milkers, some of them have been known to yield 18 quarts of good rich milk in 24 hours (a quart being equivalent to 24 ounces), and they rear a calf at the same time. The influence of this breed extends north as far as the Krishna District. The price of a first class cow is about 200 rupees, as much as 300 rupees have been paid for a prize cow. Bulls have been imported into other districts at 300 and 350 rupees each.”

No wonder then that Ongole livestock would soon make their way to other parts of the world. Their toughness, fecundity and productivity were unmatched, and Brazilian breeders were quick to exploit it. Specimens were shipped across the Indian and Atlantic Oceans to Brazil. The first known record of such a shipment dates back to 1868. Soon herds would be established in the states of Bahia, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais in the southest. From Brazil, the breed spread to the USA, Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Paraguay and Argentina. Today, it is estimated that there are as many as 100 million Nelore Cattle in Brazil alone.

Reference:

• FAO
• Department of Animal Science, Oklahoma State University
• The Dairy Site
• The Times of India 

(This article was originally published in Keshav Vivek’s blog “Man Without a Past” on November 18, 2017.)
Also Read: [Part 2] Nelore: How a Telugu Cattle Breed transformed Brazil

[Part 2] Nelore: How a Telugu Cattle Breed Transformed Brazil

The Nelore/Ongole breed accounts for as many as 100 million heads of cattle in Brazil. This is evidence of the wholehearted way in which Brazilian farmers have embraced it. And there is an economic reason to its popularity. The Nelore’s great adaptability (to the country’s tropical climate) and productivity (in terms of beef output) has made it the cattle of choice. This is what the Associação dos Criadores de Nelore do Brasil (Association of Nelore Breeders of Brazil or ACNB), a non-profit organization formed in 1954 to promote Nelore Cattle, has to say about the history of the breed’s introduction and propagation in the Latin American country:

The trajectory that transformed the Indian Ongole in the Brazilian Nelore begins in the first half of the 19th century, when the first records of landings in the country of zebu Indians originating in India date. The story describes that the first appearance of the Nellore in the country would have occurred in 1868 when a ship, destined for England, anchored in Salvador with a couple of animals of the race on board. The animals would have been commercialized, remaining in the country.
Ten years later, in search of exotic animals to bring to Brazil, Manoel Ubelhart Lembgruber had contact with the Ongole breed during a visit to the zoo in Hamburg, Germany, and from there promoted the importation of a couple of animals of the breed in October of 1878. Subsequently, other items originating directly from India contributed in Rio de Janeiro. The Nelore breed was then expanding gradually, first in Rio de Janeiro and then in São Paulo and Minas Gerais. In 1938, with the creation of the Genealogical Record, the racial characteristics of the Nelore began to be defined.
The last two significant imports of Nelore breeding occurred between 1960 and 1962. During this period, large genera such as Kavardi, Goliath, Rastan, Checurupadu, Godhavari, Padu, and Kavardi were landed in Fernando de Noronha, where they were quarantined. Today, Brazil is estimated to have a herd of more than 200 million beef cattle and dairy cattle, of which 80% of beef cattle are Nelore, which is more than 100 million head. This is the portrait of a work that has worked, from the development of its own technological know-how and progressive gains of excellence in quality, naturally, in full harmony with the environment.
Brazilian Nelore, besides being considered today as a legally national heritage, such as carnival, football, caipirinha and barbecue, can be considered as the great victory of Brazilian beef. Healthy and natural meat, exported to more than 146 countries and increasingly demanded by savvy consumers around the world.

Today, Brazil is giving traditional beef-producers like Canada, the United States and Australia a run for their money. Bodies like the Association of Nelore Breeders of Brazil (with its headquarters in Sao Paulo) are working hard to bring together everybody involved in the business around a common goal (in their own words) – ‘to strengthen and defend a breed that represents 80% of the national herd’. The ‘Beef Magazine’ (one of USA’s leading cattle publications) had this to say about the role of Nelore Cattle in Brazil’s economy:

Brazil’s beef production systems and the type of beef it produces are worlds apart from that in the U.S. Nearly all beef in Brazil is grass-finished, and there’s virtually no use of growth hormones or ionophores. About 65% of Brazil’s beef cattle genetics are Nelore-based, and 85% are Nelore-influenced. Nelore is a Bos indicus species closely linked to India’s ancient breed of Ongole cattle, says Sandra Carreiro, Campo Grange, Mato Grosso, Brazil. She’s a genetics veterinarian with Sete Estrelas Embriões, one of Brazil’s leading Nelore genetics producers. “Nelore is the ideal breed in the harsh climatic, nutritional and sanitary conditions we see in the tropics because of their hardiness and rustling ability,” she says. 
There’s little disagreement, too, that Nelore matches the recent shift toward a low-calorie, leaner-meat diet, without compromising taste. This was demonstrated at the 1991 Houston Livestock Show when a purebred Nelore steer won the “Best Overall in Taste” contest while competing against dozens of hybrid and European steers. But, what Nelore beef gains in performance under tropical conditions, and taste and leanness, it sorely lacks in consistency and tenderness.
Pound for pound, Brazil’s beef production costs are a third to a half those of American ranchers, and 15% lower than in Australia, according to USDA’s ERS. Brazil’s second-world, beef productivity surfaces, though, in factors like average age at slaughter, which is 30-36 months, and carcass yields of only about 50-55%. Undoubtedly, Brazil is one of the most competitive countries worldwide in animal protein production. And, with the absence of U.S. and Canadian beef in South Asian markets for what could be all of 2004, those markets could open further to Brazil at the expense of Australia and New Zealand.

That there are Brazilians who see the Nelore as one of the cultural symbols of the country (alongside the likes of the Carnaval celebrations, the Selecao or national football team, the Caipirinha, an extremely popular cocktail, and Churrasco, traditional grilled meat from the south), and Americans who consider it to be a game-changer in the global beef export business speaks volumes about the impact the breed had on the land that adopted it. The irony of the situation is that the Nelore/Ongole is dying out in the land of its birth. While Brazil has as many as 100 million of them, there are only 200,000 of them in India.

The decline has a lot to do with the actions of the Union (based in Delhi, in North India) and State Govt.s and the communities that have dominated them (traditionally conservative, upper caste groups that formed South Asia’s ruling clans, priesthood and mercantile networks). These people have supplied the great majority of India’s ministers (including most of the country’s Prime Ministers and members of their Cabinets), bureaucrats and researchers. This has had a devastating impact on animal husbandry in particular (where people with little knowledge of the country’s agrarian systems and a contemptuous attitude towards lower caste pastoralist, farming and artisanal groups, have directed policies). According to several reports, traditional Zebu breeds like Ongole are declining rapidly due to short-sighted (and mostly, religiously inspired) decisions. More about that later.

Reference:

• Associação dos Criadores de Nelore do Brasil
• The Hans India
• BEEF Magazine
• The Wire

(This article was originally published in Keshav Vivek’s blog “Man Without a Past” on November 18, 2017.)
Also Read: [Part 1] Nelore: How a Telugu Cattle Breed transformed Brazil