‘Sex Sorted Semen’ scheme of Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh cabinet on December 3, 2018 a ‘Sex Sorted Semen’ scheme, under which chances of cows delivering a female calf are as high as 90-95%. Through this scheme the State government plans to reduce the numbers of stray bulls by making sure that they are never born.

Features

• The scheme was successfully tested as a pilot project in three districts of the state. These districts are; Etawah, Lakhimpur Kheri and Barabanki.
• Now the government has decided to implement it in all the 75 districts of U.P.
• As per state government, during the pilot project, of the 581 calves born, 522 were female which is a success rate of around 90%.
• The scheme would be implemented on indigenous breeds, such as Sahiwal, Gir, Haryanvi, Tharparkar and Gangatiri.
• To avail of the scheme, cattle-breeders would have to pay ₹300 per conception, while in the drought-prone region of Bundelkhand, this levy would only be ₹100.
• A production unit for the project will come up at Babugarh in Hapur district.
• A common practice of Bundelkhand, ‘Amnapratha’ is also based on the letting loose of unproductive cattle.

Objectives

• The project has following two main objectives:
  • To increase the productivity of cows and
  • To decrease the number of unproductive male cattle.

Effects

• It will provide a permanent solution to the stray cattle menace in the next 2-4 years
• With a 90% fall in the number of male calves, there will be lesser number of unproductive animals, which will bring down the number of stray and destitute cattle.
• The fall in the number of male cattle will bring down the damage to crops and also the number of road accidents caused by the animals.