Lucknow, Feb 23 (IANS): The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh will encourage people to open nuclear breeding farms to propagate genetically improved Jamunapari goat, a species native to western UP that is known for its high milk and meat yield.

The government will provide subsidies to people willing to open farms and training at the sheep and goat rearing training centre at Etawah, said a government spokesman.

Jamunapari goats are the heaviest and the most productive among the 32 local breeds in the country.

The breed has got its name after River Yamuna as it exists in the belt along the river in Etawah, Aurraiya, Mainpuri, Agra, Firozabad, Kannauj, Farrukhabad and Kanpur Dehat.

Rajneesh Dubey, Additional Chief Secretary and chairman UP Livestock Development Board (UPLDB), said, “It is to preserve this significant local breed that nuclear farms will be opened in the Jamunapari areas. The Central Goat Research Institute in Mathura will provide technical knowledge and guidance.”

Goat rearing provides both milk and meat. While the high-quality ration and management can increase meat production, milk production can only be increased through genetic improvement.

“The farms will help rear superior breeds of goats that can supplement both milk and meat production,” said Dr Neeraj Gupta, CEO, UPLDB.

The Jamunapari goat yields over 1.5 litres of milk per day. The genetically improved breed may yield up to 2.5 litres of milk daily.

To conserve and genetically improve the breed, the government has already started implementation of artificial insemination in five districts-Gorakhpur, Deoria, Lalitpur, Mathura and Sonbhadra. Another 35 districts will be covered under the scheme.

The semen from the high breed males is procured from Uttar Pradesh Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Pashu Chikitsa Vigyan Vishwavidyalaya Evam Go-Anusandhan Sansthan (DUVASU), Mathura and preserved by the livestock development board before being taken to the farmers for artificial insemination in the goats.