Indigenous cattle genetic resource and their by products.

Bos Indicus or Zebu cattle breeds which are the humped cattle, found in the Indian sub-continent are thought to be the world‟s oldest domesticated cattle. Cow has been a cornerstone of Indian agriculture for centuries and has served as source of nutrition for farmer‟s families through milk and milk products, as well as providing draught animal power for both agricultural operations such as ploughing and tilling the land, as well as for transportation of goods. Nearly all basic necessities of life were woven around the cow, with contributions in all aspects of life, including farming and manure, food and nourishment, transport, fuel (burning of dried cow dung cakes and medicinal usage of cow dung and cow urine. According to a booklet on Livestock and Environment for Sustainable Development, published by CARTMAN, Bangalore, bullocks constitute 88% of the work animals, cows less than 2% and buffaloes only 9%, the latter being kept mainly for milk purposes. The total area of our country is 32.6 crore hectares having East to West distance of 2977 km and North to South span of 3219 km. A population of nearly 50 crores is spread over this vast area. Of this 82% is in 6,66,878 villages, nearly half of these villages having less than 500 persons. And of course, it is this rural area that does the farming and so supports the cow. In the centuries-old cow economy of this country, nearly all basic necessities of life were woven around the pivotal cow. These are Farming & manure, Food & nourishment, Transport, Fuel, Housing, and Medicinal usage.