Urbanisation, price rise rob Haryana of its famed buffaloes

JIND: Haryana’s buffalo population has been declining since 2007, says data procured from the animal husbandry and dairying department. According to the 2007 animal census, there were 59.53 lakh buffaloes in the state. The number dropped to 57.64 lakh in 2012 and 43.76 lakh in 2019. Data shows a reduction of 13.87 lakh buffaloes in seven years between 2012 and 2019. A decline of 15.76 lakh buffaloes was recorded between 2007 and 2019.
Jind recorded a decline of 1.07 lakh buffaloes followed by Hisar, which recorded decline of 83,056 buffaloes. Bhiwani recorded a major decline of 2.47 lakh followed by Sonipat at 1.22 lakh and Rohtak at 89,286 from 2012 to 2019. These districts collectively form Haryana’s famed Murrah belt, home to the best breed of buffaloes in the world.

Veterinary surgeon Dr Punit Singh said, “Farmers don’t keep unproductive buffaloes with them, they sell them promptly. They also keep a tab on the diet and productivity of their livestock. Apart from this, buffaloes have been transported to other states, especially to Andhra Pradesh, which witnessed a huge decline in population.”
Jasbir Singh, a dairy farmer from Bibipur village of Jind, who has over 12 murrah buffaloes, said, “Income has decreased and expenditure has increased, due to which dairy farmers are leaving this profession. Now, people prefer migrating to cities for livelihood. I have a passion for dairy farming but despite the hard work, the outcome is not satisfactory. When a buffalo becomes unproductive, farmers sell it because of the heavy expenditure involved in its upkeep. Moreover, dairy farming is directly connected with farming and farmers don’t get the desired outcome in that too. Those who used to keep one or two buffalo no longer do so,” he said.
Ravinder Hooda, deputy director, animal husbandry and dairying, Jind, said, “There are many reasons behind the decline, such as availability of adulterated milk in the market due to farmers failing to get proper cost of original milk. Fodder price has gone up. People are not keeping buffaloes due to urbanisation and people who have jobs don’t prefer to keep livestock at home.”
The prohibitive price of buffaloes also discourages people from venturing into dairy farming. Dayanand Singh, (64) a retired veterinary and livestock development assistant (VLDA) in Jind said, “In 10 years, buffaloes have witnessed a decline and there are many reasons for this like infertility caused by improper diet. Buffalo prices have soared. In 2010, we used to purchase a buffalo for around just Rs 20,000. Now, this has crossed Rs 1 lakh. The present price cannot be afforded by farmers, therefore, they don’t opt for dairy farming.”