Sex Sorted Semen Technology May Bring The Next white Revolution In India : Chhattisgarh News

The patent for sex-sorted semen is held by ST Genetics of the United States. By significantly reducing the number of Y chromosomes in the semen, the probability of producing a female calf increases to 90-92 percent.

Following the American model, the use of sex-sorted semen could trigger a second White Revolution in India. This technology can lead to improved breeding of cows and help control the growing population of stray cattle. Currently, this American technology is being implemented in India. The governments of Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh have signed MoUs with an American company and established laboratories. Even without a dedicated lab in Chhattisgarh, livestock farmers there are highly impressed with the results of using this semen. The Chhattisgarh government should also establish a modern semen production laboratory in the state. This would eliminate the need for farmers to travel elsewhere and ensure that advanced semen is readily available within the state.

What is sex-sorted semen?

The American company ST Genetics holds the patent for sex-sorted semen. By significantly reducing the number of Y chromosomes in the semen, the probability of producing a female calf increases to 90-92 percent. For the past 35-40 years, artificial insemination resulted in a 50-50 chance of producing either a male or female calf. With this advanced semen, the probability of a male calf being born is reduced to just 8-10 percent. This directly benefits livestock farmers.

Generally, most dairy farmers prefer their cows to give birth to female calves. However, until now, the chances of this happening through artificial insemination were low. Using this semen will help cows produce female calves, increase farmers’ income, improve cattle breeds, and reduce the number of stray animals. Nowadays, farming and sowing are done with tractors and other machinery. Therefore, male calves or bulls are proving less useful to dairy farmers. Farmers often abandon their male calves, which frequently leads to accidents caused by stray animals. But, this will not happen with the use of this semen.

The White Revolution will return

Regarding the other benefits of using sex-sorted semen, the experiment will increase the number of cows. People will be more attracted to the dairy industry, and there will be a greater possibility of a second White Revolution in the country. The third and most important benefit of using sex-sorted semen will be the improvement of the cow breed. With the use of sex-sorted semen for three generations, the cows will become a superior breed, capable of producing significantly more milk. All these benefits will directly impact livestock farmers. Regarding artificial insemination using sex-sorted semen, Dr. C.K. Mishra, a senior veterinarian in the Surguja Animal Husbandry Department, said in an interview that he had informed Collector Sanjeev Jha about it. Following the Collector’s instructions, Dr. Mishra decided to conduct the experiment without delay and traveled to Rishikesh in Uttarakhand to procure the semen.

The Uttarakhand government has partnered with US-based ST Genetics to establish a laboratory for developing semen. The semen is being purchased and used for artificial insemination. As a result, veterinarians and their team have so far artificially inseminated more than 300 cows using sex-sorted semen. To date, 65 female calves have been born, and it is expected that more than 90 percent of the remaining cows will also give birth to female calves. Notably, Surguja in Chhattisgarh was the first to adopt this modern artificial insemination technique. Sex-sorted semen is available for four breeds: Gir, Sahiwal, Jersey, and Holstein.