NLDB bullish on Lankan cow transplants

In an effort to increase the milk production in Sri Lanka the National Livestock Development Board (NLDB) has launched a programme to transplant cattle embryos, Chairman of the NLDB, Dr. Chandrawansa Pathiraja told The Sunday Times FT.

"This is the first time that this technology will be used in Sri Lanka," Dr. Pathiraja said, explaining that under this project, seven day old embryos imported from Australia would be transplanted in local cows. Thousand embryos have been ordered, out of which 200 have already arrived in the country. Dr. Pathiraja said that they would first be used on the NLDB cattle. Speaking on the benefits of this method Dr. Pathiraja said it would be more cost effective than importing a cow. "Importing a cow will cost about Rs 300, 000 while the import of an embryo will only cost around Rs 15, 000," he said adding that at the moment no one imports cows to the country as it is expensive.

"If we use this technique it will increase milk production by 70 percent as the embryos that are used are those of a breed that produces a minimum of 15 litres of milk a day," Dr Pathiraja said, saying that the local varieties of cows yield only about three to four litres per day. According to him, this would also bring down the cost of milk.

Currently, Sri Lanka imports 80 percent of its milk, which is 60, 000 metric tons of milk powder, adding up to a staggering Rs. 12.5 billion per year. "We need around 750 million litres of milk a year. At the moment only 200 million is produced here," said Dr Pathiraja.

The funding for the project has come from the Ministry of Livestock Development. This technology is currently being used in Europe and Asia as well.