Vice President calls for protecting Ongole Cattle Breed

May 22, 2019

The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu called for protecting and promoting the indigenous Ongole cattle breed. He also released a Compendium on Ongole breed of cattle at the Swarna Bharat Trust in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.

Key Highlights

Vice President Naidu asserted that cattle wealth was national wealth. He pointed out that Brazil which had imported these cattle and now produced hybrid Ongoles is gaining huge revenue through its export.
As per him, India do not focus enough attention on its own indigenous breed and now the time has come for promoting Ongole cattle breed and also to take up research on animal.
He asked concerned officials to expedite the works at National Kamadhenu Breeding Centre, Chintaladevi in Nellore District, Andhra Pradesh.
Agriculture: Vice President Naidu observed that Indian agriculture is facing many challenges thus stressed need for taking up multi-pronged efforts from all concerned stakeholders to making agriculture sustainable, more profitable and to double farmer’s income. He also urged farmers to take up in house dairy and backyard poultry for fetching additional income source.

About Compendium

The Compendium released by Vice President Naidu has 1200-page which traces history of animal, from year 1885 to 2016. It provides information from 13 books and 80 research findings on Ongole Cattle. Agricultural scientist, Mullapudi Narendranath and former Joint Director of Animal Husbandry Department, Adusumilli Madhusudan Rao were credited for compilation of the Compendium.

About Ongole Cattle Breed

Nomenclature: The breed derives its name from the name of a place called ‘Ongole’, which occupies a small area between Gundlakamma and Musi rivers in Andhra Pradesh. It is also nicknamed as ‘Nelore cattle’ as Ongole was once part of the Nellore area.
Indigenous Breed: Ongole cattle are indigenous to Prakasam District, Andhra Pradesh in India.
Worldwide Demand: The ongole bull has great demand all over the world. In Brazil, population of Ongole off-breed is around several millions. The USA’s famous ‘Santa Gertrudis breed’ also have Ongole blood. They are used in bull fights not only in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, but also in Mexico and some parts of East Africa.
Features: They are known for their toughness, high milk yield, rapid growth rate, tolerance to tropical heat and natural resistance to both foot and mouth disease (FMD) and mad cow disease.