Tanuvas’s Buffalo Mela educates farmers on successful rearing practices

TIRUVALLUR: To encourage women to take up buffalo farming, the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (Tanuvas) on Thursday held Buffalo Mela-2023 in Ayilacheri village in Tiruvallur district. The Mela, which mainly focused on the unique Bargur buffaloes of Tamil Nadu is first of a kind event in the State.

“To spread awareness among farmers on the best practices for buffalo rearing, the TANUVAS organised the two-day Buffalo Mela. The Mela and Buffalo Calf Rally were organised by TANUVAS’s College of Food and Dairy Technology (CFDT), Koduveli, in association with Central Cattle Breeding Farm on June 14 and 15. The motive behind the Mela is to encourage women to take up buffalo farming and to provide them with a source of earning,” N Kuramavelu, Dean of CFDT told DT Next.

According to Kuramavelu, farmers are still using the traditional rearing methods due to which they are not able to produce a proper quantity of milk and avoid the mortality of their animals.

He said during this two-day workshop on Dairy Preneurship and Scientific Rearing of Buffaloes for Rural Women, awareness will be created on topics like scientific practices in the rearing of buffaloes and summer management, the role of nutrition in enhanced productivity in buffaloes, reproductive management of buffaloes, buffalo calf rearing, managemental practices and health care of buffalo calves, and judging of milch buffalo at CFDT adopted village.

“More than 500 buffaloes and 100 farmers participated in the two-day buffalo mela,” he added.

“Training was given on separation of skim milk and cream from buffalo milk, flavoured milk preparation, fermented and coagulated milk products, fat-rich milk products preparation, ice cream preparation, milk sweets preparation from buffalo milk, solar powered milk processing for dairy preneurship, marketing channels for value-added products from buffalo milk, awareness on food business incubation at CFDT, Koduveli and bank loans for a dairy firm start-up. This will help in increasing the buffalo population in the state. We have provided our own calf mortality prevention kit, livestock feed, grand mineral mixture, salt licks, deworming medicines and health supplements to the farmers in Tiruvallur district,” the Dean of CFDT added.

Exuding hope and happiness, Rajasekhar, an engineer turned farmer said that the two-day workshop on Dairy Preneurship is very useful to the farmers who have shown interest in buffalo rearing.

“A large number of graduated people have started to engage in animal husbandry and agriculture today. I am also a Diploma holder in Electrical engineering. As I too cannot find a proper job, I am engaged in our family business of buffalo rearing. Until now, we did not know what kind of food should be given to the buffaloes in what season. By participating in this Mela, we learned all about how buffalo milk can be turned into a value-added product and what food can be given to the buffaloes and when, and what kind of treatment can be given if they fall ill.” he added.

Notably, the CFDT would provide its technologies and modern equipment to the farmers at a minimum cost of Rs 10,000 per year to improve buffalo rearing in the region.