Why in news?
The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying announced plans for a Centre of Excellence for Siri cattle conservation and development in Sikkim. Its 2 November 2026 release also reported the launch of a Siri Cattle Conservation Programme and the foundation stone for a Siri Bull Mother Farm at Chuchachen in Pakyong district. The initiatives aim to conserve the indigenous breed and support organised breeding.
A cattle breed of the eastern Himalayan hills
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBAGR) lists Sikkim and West Bengal as the home tract of Siri cattle. The National Dairy Development Board’s breed profile places them in Sikkim and the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal. These are areas where livestock rearing forms part of hill farming.
Siri is a relatively small breed traditionally used for draught work—providing animal power for farm tasks. The animals can graze on steep, forested slopes. Their coats may be black or brown, with or without white patches. They have medium-sized curved horns and a tuft of hair on the hump near the junction of the neck and shoulders.
What breed conservation preserves
A breed carries inherited characteristics developed over generations of breeding and use. Animal genetic resources include these inherited differences, both between breeds and among animals within a breed. Conserving Siri therefore involves maintaining a breeding population and the variation within it.
The Food and Agriculture Organization distinguishes two complementary approaches. In situ conservation maintains live animals within the farming systems where the breed is normally kept. Cryoconservation stores semen, eggs, embryos or tissues at very low temperatures for potential future use. Living herds continue to interact with local conditions; stored material provides a reserve of genetic resources.
Breeding records help connect conservation with day-to-day herd management. Recording an animal’s parents allows managers to trace family relationships. Performance records show how animals do under the conditions in which they are kept. This information supports selection while helping managers retain variation and manage mating between relatives.
How a bull mother farm fits in
A bull mother farm maintains selected cows to produce future breeding bulls. Their sons can contribute to breeding programmes, including the supply of bulls for semen stations. Choosing parents and recording the resulting offspring connect the farm’s work with the quality of later generations.
The ministry describes the proposed Chuchachen facility as supporting Siri conservation, genetic improvement and the production of quality breeding material. It also requested a comprehensive action plan covering breed improvement, genetic conservation and scientific breeding. These are the purposes around which the programme and proposed facilities are to be developed.
Why IVF appears in the plan
The minister also asked for a work plan to introduce in vitro fertilisation (IVF). In this process, eggs collected from a selected female are fertilised with sperm in a laboratory. The resulting embryos develop for a short period before suitable embryos are transferred to recipient animals or frozen for later use.
IVF can produce more offspring from selected females within a breeding programme. Each embryo inherits genetic material from the egg and the sperm. The choice of both parents therefore remains central to the traits being selected and the diversity represented in future herds.
Conclusion
Siri conservation brings together a hill-farming breed, living herds, genetic records and breeding technology. The announced programme gives these activities a common focus. Its practical work will involve connecting farmers’ herds with planned breeding facilities while maintaining the breed’s inherited variation.
Sources
- DAHD: Siri conservation initiatives and proposed facilities, 2 November 2026
- ICAR-NBAGR: registered cattle breeds and home tracts
- NDDB Dairy Knowledge Portal: Siri breed profile
- FAO: In vivo conservation of animal genetic resources (2013)
- DAHD: role of bull mother farms and breeding-bull supply
- NDDB: assisted reproduction and IVF process