Riverine type buffalo of Pakistan belong to two breeds i.e. Nili-Ravi of Punjab and Kundi of Sindh province. Nili-Ravi buffaloes constitute approximately 79% of the total buffalo population in the country and are found in several parts of NWFP and AJK in addition to their primary home tract which is in irrigated Punjab.
According to the last livestock census conducted in Pakistan during 1986, the buffalo population was 15.7 million. As per 1994 estimates, the population of buffaloes has increased to 19.7 million which is indicative of 5.04% annual growth rate since 1986.
Pakistani buffaloes are used as a triple purpose (milk, meat, draught) animal. They are the main dairy animals in the country, and more than 71% (13.4 million tonns) of the national milk production (18.94 million tonns) is contributed by buffaloes, Meat is an important by-product of buffaloes. According to the recent estimates, more than 0.45 million tonns of buffalo meat is produced per annum which constitutes about 49% of the total meat production in Pakistan.
In addition to their use for milk and meat production, buffaloes are an important source of draught power in the country. Buffaloes are used for a variety of agricultural operations e.i. ploughing, especially in paddy fields, water lifting from wells, transportation of farm produce to nearby markets, etc.
The major problems faced by the buffalo breeders and farmers include poor reproductive efficiency, sub-optimal production potential, higher incidence of infertility diseases, lower rates of calf survival and higher costs of feeding. Poor reproductive efficiency is mainly due to delayed onset of puberty (32-42 months) and longer calving intervals (18-24 months). Although the Nili-Ravi and Kundi of Pakistan are among the best dairy breeds of buffalo in the world, their milk producing ability is still sub-optimal and there is considerable scope for their genetic improvement. Buffalo nutrition is another area where much research is required to develop economical feeding strategy for various stages of growth and productive cycle of buffaloes.
In order to address these problems of buffalo farming in Pakistan and to make the best possible use of available research and development resources, a National Coordinated Buffalo Research Program (NCBRP) was initiated by Pakistan Agricultural Council in 1992 for a period of 6 years. The NCBRP is a part of the overall Agricultural Research Project (ARP-II) sponsored by the World Bank under a loan to the Government of Pakistan.
The main objective of NCBRP is to improve reproductive efficiency and production performance of dairy buffaloes of Pakistan through research on reproduction, breeding, nutrition and disease control. Buffalo research and development activities of seven research institutes located in various parts of the country are coordinated under this program.
In the field of male buffalo reproduction, research activities are aimed at improving semen evaluation and processing techniques, development of suitable extenders for buffalo semen and studies on comparative physiology of buffalo and cattle spermatozoa in terms of sperm capacitation and acrosomal integrity.
In the field of female buffalo reproduction, the research work is focused on reducing the calving interval. Suckling by calf, inefficient heat detection and higher ambient temperatures during summer months have been identified as the common non-genetic factors responsible for longer calving intervals of buffaloes.
In the field of buffalo breeding, the progeny testing program of Nili-Ravi buffaloes in operation since 1981 in Punjab province is being strengthened under the NCBRP. So far, more than 5000 buffaloes maintained at 5 Government Livestock Farms, 3 military Dairy Farms and field areas of Districts Okara, Sahiwal and Faisalabad have been registered under the program. Out of these, 542 bull mothers have been identified with average lactation ranging from 2600 to 3800 liters. Progeny testing of candidate bulls of the first four batches have been completed and out of 44 bulls contesting bulls, 16 bulls have been selected as having Relative Breeding Value greater than 100. The results of the 5th batch are still awaited.
The important issue of economical rearing and fattening of male buffalo calves for increasing meat production in the country is studied under the NCBRP, Efforts are underway to develop economical and efficient early weaning diets for calves. Experimental work completed so far indicates that diets based on cotton seed meal and soybean meal can be successfully and economically used for early weaning.
Submitted by: Rafiq H. Usmani, Animal Production Institute, National Agricultural Research Center, Islamabad, Pakistan.