Introduction
National Cattle Research Program (NCRP) is one among the various commodity programs under the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), administered directly by the director for Livestock and Fisheries research. It has evolved from the Livestock Development Farm of the Department of Livestock Development and Animal Health after the establishment of Nepal Agricultural Research Council in 1991 and named as National Bovine Research Program (NBRP) at Khumaltar, Lalitpur. Realizing the importance of the commodity in the country, NARC management has decided to separate the cattle commodity from NBRP and then National Cattle Research Program (NCRP) was established in year 2069 B.S. (2013 A.D.) under the NARC act. NCRP was shifted from Khumaltar to Rampur, Chitwan in 2071 B.S. (2014 A.D.).NCRP situated in the central region of Nepal (270 40′ N; 840 35′ E and 256 masl.) at Rampur, Chitwan District situated 11 km from the city of Narayangarh. NCRP complex extends in an area of 25 hectare of land.
As a component of NARC, it aims to contribute towards increasing the production and productivity of livestock sectors in general and research and development of cattle in particular. Therefore, generation of appropriate technologies for various agro-ecological zones of the country, client oriented, problem based, participatory, holistic and systematic research on cattle is the approach undertaken by this program to maintain the dynamism in livestock production system and uplift the living standard of Nepalese population.
Goal
Livelihood of farming communities improved through research by increased livestock productivity.
Vision
National Cattle Research Program aims to enhance the production and productivity of livestock sector in general and cattle in particular with the integrated effort on client oriented, problem based, participatory & systematic research and maintain the dynamism in livestock production system.
Objectives
- To generate, verify and recommend adaptable technologies in feeding, breeding, production / management (husbandry) & health of cattle, suitable for various agro-ecological zones of the country.
- To determine, formulate and fix priorities of cattle research in the country.
- To document, maintain and update information on cattle research in Nepal.
- To establish, maintain and strengthen linkage with other National and International institutions / organizations for collaborative and participatory research.
Major Achievement
- Fifty percent gene level of crossbred Jersey or Holstein-Friesian (HF) is suitable for the on-farm condition of mid hills. Age at calving, calving interval and milk yield of 50 % Jersey and HF was recorded (32.4 & 27.9 months), (13.8 & 17.7 months) and (1471 & 1836 liters/ lactation) respectively.
- Early weaned crossbred cattle calves at 4 months of age performed better than the calves weaned at 2 and 6 months of age.The age and body weight at puberty of the cross-bred calves weaned at 4 months of age was 12.33 months and 195.3 kg. Whereas the calves weaned at 2 and 6 months of age had puberty at 12.7 & 14.4 months of age and body weight at puberty were 169.5 and 148.02 kg respectively.
- Increased milk production in cows and better growth rate of forthcoming calves can be expected by steaming up diet during last two months of gestation.
- Calves can be raised successfully by replacing whole milk feeding with unconventional milk replacer after the age of 21 days. Feeding milk replacer based on buttermilk and whole milk saved Rs 2284 and 2141/- per calf respectively during four months rearing period.
- Calves born during Kartik to Poush showed better growth and low mortality in Kathmandu valley. Therefore, heat-synchronizing animals for calving into that season seemed beneficial.
- Induced lactation is possible in dry and infertile animal with the use of sex steroids. Estrogen (Estradiol 17 ß and) progesterone (4-pregnene-3, 20 dione) in the ratio of 1:2.5 It was more effective in terms of induction and average milk yield as compared to the hormone ratio of 1:1.
- Draught animals are used only for 96.3 days in the year therefore better utilization of draught animals could be achieved by better feeding, breeding and management system and by designing single oxen used harness system.
- Milk yield is affected significantly by the increased feeding frequency of lactating animals. Dividing the daily concentrate requirement of high yielding cattle (> 10 liters/day) into three parts and feeding them three times a day (7 a.m., 12 noon & 4 p.m.) produced an additional 495 liters of milk per lactation as compared with two times feeding (7 a.m. & 4 p.m.) 2268 liter/ lactation.
- Urea-mineral-molasses block (UMMB) feeding was economical for increased milk production in crossbred dairy cattle. Dairy cows supplemented with UMMB produced 1282.6 liters of milk as compared to the cows without supplementation (855.9 liters) in 140 days of study period.
Early pregnancy diagnosis in bovine (30 days onward) from milk and blood serum has been established by ELISA technique.
Research Activities
The research activities are mainly focuses on cattle breeding, feeds and feeding management, animal health, milk and milk products and socioeconomic of the farming. Some of the ongoing research activities are:
- Cattle Herd Management and Production Project
- Verification of Proven Livestock Technologies through Outreach Sites.
- Development of Strategies for Reducing Cost of Cow Milk Production
- Study of Reproductive and Productive Performance of Jersey, Holstein and their Crosses in Different Location
- Identification of Multidrug Resistant Pathogen and Development of Effective Control Strategy to Combat against Mastitis.
- Ultrasound Imaging in Bovines of Nepal.
- Development of Climate Resilient Strategies for Dairy Animal Feeding in Low and Mid Hills.
- Study on Health and Husbandry Practices of Achhami Cattle in Far western Nepal.
- Holistic Approach to Improve Fertility in Crossbred Dairy Cattle of Nepal.
- Improvement of Dairy Cattle Productivity through Feeding Interventions.
- Study on Existing Situation of Heat Stress Management of Crossbred Cattle in Dairy Pocket Area of Terai.
- Molecular Identification of Babesia Spp. Infectivity in Tick from Cattle of Terai and Mid hills.
- Development of Winter Forage Production Technologies in Terai Districts.
Researchers
- Mr. Devi Prasad Adhikari, Senior Scientist (S-4)/Coordinator
- Dr. Gita Pandey, Scientist
- Mr. Santosh Ghimire, Technical Officer
- Mr. Yagya Raj Pandeya, Technical Officer
Contact Address
National Cattle Research Program, Khumaltar
Rampur, Chitwan
Tel: 977-56-591071, 591009 Fax: 977-56-591255
Email: ncrp@narc.gov.np
Website: www.narc.org.np