Haryana will establish a Centre of Excellence for the development of animal breeds in collaboration with Brazil. This information was given by Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister, JP Dalal, in Brazil. He said that the Gir Association of Brazil has expressed willingness to import Murrah buffalo germplasm from the state through Haryana Livestock Development Board.
A delegation led by JP Dalal is on a visit to Brazil and in the city of Brasilia, the delegation met the President of the Gir Association, Professor Jose Fernando and his team members. The Indian Ambassador to the Indian High Commission, Suresh Reddy was also present at the meeting.
During the meeting, the delegation, with the members of Association of Brazilian Zebu Breeders (ABCZ), discussed the modalities for setting up the Centre of Excellence for Gir animals in Haryana. The delegation visited Motam Gir Hut Farm in Alexandria district near Brasilia, which is one of the largest Gir farms with more than 1,500 good quality Gir cows. The delegation inquired about the dairy practices followed in breeding, nutrition and agricultural management practices and studied them.
JP Dalal met Jean Marcel Fernandes, Secretary of Trade and International Relations, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supplies of Brazil and had very fruitful discussions. They agreed to further strengthen mutually beneficial ties in the areas of dairy development and cattle breed improvement, including exchange of information and experiences, technologies such as Embryo Transfer Technology (ETT) and In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF), joint research and exchange of genetic material and germplasm.
During the meeting, both sides also agreed to cooperate in setting up a Centre of Excellence in Haryana. JP Dalal also invited a delegation from the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture to visit Haryana to take this forward and explore new areas of cooperation in agriculture, forestry and aquaculture. In the meeting, they also agreed to engage with both sides through diplomatic missions located in Brasilia and New Delhi.
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In Uberaba, Dalal held a meeting with the ABCZ and visited Alta Genetics, a state-of-the-art animal genomics company. They welcomed their interest in expanding cooperation for mutually beneficial partnerships in animal husbandry and allied sectors. Dalal also visited the Embrapa Animal Dairy (Embrapa Gado de Leite) Research Centre in Juiz de Fora and discussed areas of cooperation.
The delegation included Chairman, Haryana Livestock Development Board, Randhir Singh Golan; Chairman, Haryana Warehouse Corporation, Nayan Pal Rawat; Chairman, Haryana Forest Development Corporation, Dharampal Gondar; Commissioner and Secretary, Haryana Animal Husbandry and Dairying Department, Pankaj Aggarwal and other officials.