Sri Lankan rural dev team visits Haryana, shows interest in raising Murrah breed buffaloes

In a bid to explore mutual agricultural development possibilities, the Rural Development team from Sri Lanka met Haryana Agricultural Minister Jai Parkash Dalal. On 13 September, Monday, a delegation from Sri Lanka expressed interest in the animal husbandry and agricultural sector of Haryana. The team comprising of Sri Lankan Minister of State for Backward Rural Development, Sathasivam Viyalendran and Coordinating Secretary to the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Senthil Thondaman met with Haryana Agricultural Minister to discuss exchanges in Animal Husbandry and agricultural sector.

The delegates met at the Haryana Bhawan in the national capital. After the meeting, Dalal tweeted in Hindi: "Today, (I met with) Sathasivam Viyalendran, Minister of State for Backward Rural Development and Senthil Thondaman, Coordinating Secretary to the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and held a meeting with them at Haryana Bhawan, Delhi." During the meeting, the delegates displayed a keen interest in the water buffalo breed, Murrah due to its high capacity of milk productivity.

The Sri Lankan delegates praised the agricultural development in Haryana, especially in the animal husbandry sector. They also expressed their views on the possibility of mutual development in the same. The team spoke about the high-yielding Murrah buffaloes reared in Haryana.

During the in-depth bilateral rural development meeting, the diplomats discussed agricultural research and techniques, e-mandi, agricultural marketing and horticulture centres and milk plants, ANI reported. He also said that both the countries have huge potential for mutual development in the agricultural and animal husbandry sector.

Know about Murrah buffaloes

The water buffalo breed known as the Murrah buffaloes drew the keen interest of the Sri Lankan delegates due to its high milk-producing capacity. The buffaloes produce approximately 15-20 litres of milk every day. Additionally, the stored fat content in the milk is about 7 per cent or more in some cases. Low-quality breeds are sold for Rs. 1 lakh, while prices of premium quality buffaloes can go up to Rs. 4 lakh. 

(With inputs from ANI)

(Image: ANI/ Unsplash)