The indigenous Kenkatha breed of cattle is fast disappearing. Here’s why we should be worried.

Panna, Madhya Pradesh

In the monsoon months between June and August, a weekly market in Ajaygarh comes alive on Thursdays, with the sound of hooves and mooing, as farmers come to buy and sell cattle here.

“The Ajaygarh cattle fair is a very old one, since the time of Maharaja Bhopal Singh, more than a 100 years ago,”Hanumanth Singh, a cattle breeder and a progressive farmer from Aramganj village in Panna district of Madhya Pradesh, told Gaon Connection.

“Farmers from a number of villages on the banks of the river Ken come here to trade in cattle,” he added. Interested buyers also come from the neighbouring districts of Satna, Chhatarpur and Damoh in Madhya Pradesh, and also from Banda and Mahoba districts in Uttar Pradesh, he informed.

While there are several breeds of cattle available at the fair, the Kenkatha bull, an indigenous breed of cattle, is conspicuous by its absence. The name of this breed is derived from the Ken river that separates Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

“The Kenkatha breed is a resilient one that can survive and flourish even in difficult environments. It is unmatched in stamina and strength. And for generations they were used not just to plough fields, but also to transport heavy loads,” said Hanumanth Pratap Singh, who has won the Gopal Puraskar for breeding cattle in 2011 and 2018.

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In a changing climate with temperatures breaching new records and rainfall patterns changing, leading to both water stress and fodder shortages, the importance of indigenous breeds of cattle, such as Kenkatha, is gaining ground as these breeds are considered climate-resilient (like millets are climate-resilient crops) and can survive under stressful weather conditions.

“Animals of the [Kenkatha] breed are well adapted to the agro-climatic conditions of the area. Breed is sustaining on poor quality feed and fodders available in the breeding tract,” reads a 2006 monograph, titled ‘Cattle Genetic Resources of India: Kenkatha Breed', by National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources.

But despite the importance of this indigenous breed of cattle, “no organised farm exists for the breed for the production of quality bulls and genetic improvement in the country,” the monograph goes on to note.

Apart from Kenkatha, India has a large repository of indigenous bovine population with a rich biodiversity. There are 50 well-defined breeds of cattle and 17 breeds of buffaloes, as noted by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

According to NDDB, these breeds have evolved over generations, and have survived due to their adaptability to harsh climatic conditions, ability to perform on marginal and poor feed and fodder resources. They are well adapted to India’s existing agro-climatic conditions and resistant to many tropical diseases.

Kenkatha cattle of Bundelkhand

There was a time, not so long ago, that the Kenkatha bulls were abundant in villages that lay along the banks of the Ken river, in drought-prone Bundelkhand region of central India, especially in the villages of Panna, Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh, and in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh.

The region is marked by low rainfall and summer temperatures that often cross 48 degree Celsius. Migration in search of livelihood is the survival tactics of local communities.

It is now near impossible to find Kenkatha breed of cattle in the region where it first originated. “They were the backbone of our agricultural activities till even 25 years ago and every panchayat here had at least one Kenkatha bull,” Maniram Sahu, a cattle breeder from Ajaygarh in Panna district, told Gaon Connection.

But, in the last 10 years, the Kenkatha bulls have almost completely gone. Perhaps the last surviving Kenkatha bull is under Sahu’s care. “There are none in the department of Animal Husbandry either,” the 56-year-old breeder said.

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The disappearing Kenkatha breed

According to Hanumanth, 30 years ago, the department of Animal Husbandry had issued about two dozen Kenkatha bull to the villages in the Ajaygarh area.

“There were even people appointed to look after them, but none of those bulls survive today,” the 46-year-old breeder said.

The measures taken to protect them were not entirely effective. The last of the bulls given to the panchayats died 10 years ago in Kalyanpur, he said.

The Kenkatha breed in general has dwindled alarmingly. Mechanisation of agriculture was a big factor, pointed out Hanumanth Pratap Singh.

Also, because the cows of this breed yield less milk compared to other breeds, was another reason for its decline. “The Kenkatha cows give up to a maximum of three litres each per day, compared to the other breeds that give anything between five and 10 litres,” said Hanumanth Pratap Singh.

Sahu, who owns many breeds of cattle, said that though the Kenkatha cow gives less milk, it is very tasty. Also, these cows are tough and rarely fall ill. Their calves are perfect to be used for ploughing and they can survive on less fodder.

“Before people were happy to have calves of this breed as they would grow up to work on their agricultural lands. But now, rarely are they used in the fields, so they are seen as of no use to farmers,” Hanumanth Singh said. He said he himself was looking out for a Kenkatha bull. “If I find one, I will then buy Kenkatha cows,” he said.

“There is a demand here for Kenkatha cattle, and a pair can fetch up to Rs 25, 000 to Rs 30, 000. They are particularly suited to the arid conditions of this area, and are low maintenance,” he said.

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No care for Kenkatha

There was a time when Ajaygarh boasted a centre for the Kenkatha breed of cattle. “There were three other sub centres for this at Bhapatpur, Sanguraiyya and Bariyarpur. But they all shut down around 1997,” ML Prajapati, in-charge of the department of animal husbandry, Ajaygarh, told Gaon Connection.

The official too reiterated how mechanisation of agriculture and the low yield of milk from the Kenkatha cows was a cause of their decline.

In Panna district, a Kenkatha conservation centre was set up about 25 years ago, but it too shut down in 2006, said Mohar Singh, the in-charge of Animal Husbandry and Medical Department there.

“There are hardly any records or information available about this breed. All I know is what is available on Google,” he told Gaon Connection. There was no information in either the district headquarters of Panna, nor in the Animal Husbandry department office.

Meanwhile, Prajapati from the Animal Husbandry department of Ajaygarh expressed concern about how Kenkatha cows were being artificially inseminated by bulls of other breeds. “This might well be the last nail on the coffin of the breed,” he said.