Tirupur: Native breed cattle enthusiasts are going the extra mile to ensure that such breeds are preserved. On Sunday, a small group of people at the weekly Palayakottai Kangeyam cattle market chipped in to help a 13-year-old boy who did not have sufficient money to buy a female Kangeyam calf for his farmer parents.
Ponsivavel of Chettithottampudur in Sivagiri panchayat of Erode district, a Class VIII student, had been saving up to buy a laptop. At this time, his parents – Krishnasamy and Thilagavathi – were suffering huge losses due to failed crops in their two-acre farmland.
“We were attracted by the principles of the organic farming expert, the late Nammazhvar, who had visited our farm twice. We were struggling to make organic manure, including Panchakaviyam and Jeevamirtham, because we did not have a native breed cow. The dung of native breeds is crucial in making such manure, but we were not in a position to buy a native breed cow which costs more than Rs 1 lakh,” K Thilagavathi told TOI. They had incurred a loss of more than Rs 2 lakh.
“Moved our plight, our son Ponsivavel said he was willing his sacrifice his dream of having a laptop and help us to buy a calf. He had saved Rs 19,000. But that was not enough to buy a calf,” said Thilagavathi.
“We learnt that some people at the Palayakottai Kangeyam cattle market were helping weak farmers buy native breeds. When we contacted V Sivakumar, the founder of the Palayakottai shandy, he enthusiastically came forward to help us,” she said.
“Before we reached the shandy on Sunday, Sivakumar had completed the deal for a 10-month-old female Kangeyam calf. It cost Rs 32,000 and we handed over the Rs 19,000 we had. The remaining amount was shared by Sivakumar and four other native breed enthusiasts,” said Ponsivavel, who has named the calf Sai Vijayalakshmi.
Talking to TOI, Sivakumar said: “It is important to promote breeding of native
cows among the young generation to protect the breeds. So, when I raised the predicament of the family, many friends, especially native breed lovers, came forward to help Ponsivavel.”