Camel dairying: an Indian perspective

Abstract

Camel in Indian context is considered as an integral part of desert eco-system and existence of camel in other parts of this country is largely not known where it is sustaining mainly due to its milk (Mehta and Sahani 2004). Camel milk is being utilized to a great extent in the south and south-eastern districts of Rajasthan and adjacent Madhya Pradesh. Mewari breed of camel is prevalent in these regions. The breed is adapted to the hilly terrains of Arawali hills of south Rajasthan and is one among the four major breeds of camel in India (Rathore 1986, Khanna et al. 2004, Mehta et al. 2007). The camel milk is three-time richer in vitamin C (Farah et al. 1992) and rich in iron, zinc, copper, sodium, magnesium, manganese and potassium (Sawaya et al. 1984, Abu-Lehia 1987) and low in lactose (Elamin and Wilcox 1992) as compared to the cattle milk. Recently much attention has been paid on the utilization of the inherent properties of camel milk for human health (Gorakhmal et al. 2000, 2001, Sahani et al. 2005) but the milk production potential of the species remains largely unexplored. This study was therefore focused to document the actual production and sale of camel milk in this country, to discuss the shift of selection criteria from draught to milk and to explore the possible contribution of breeding camels for milk production in in situ conservation of the species. The data about the sale of camel milk was collected from 61 camel breeders of Udaipur, Rajsamand, Chittorgarh, Bharatpur and Alwar districts of Rajasthan, and Neemuch and Mandsour districts of Madhya Pradesh. The livestock census figures (Livestock Census, GOI 2003) were utilized for …The data about the sale of camel milk was collected from 61 camel breeders of Udaipur, Rajsamand, Chittorgarh, Bharatpur and Alwar districts of Rajasthan, and Neemuch and Mandsour districts of Madhya Pradesh. The livestock census figures (Livestock Census, GOI 2003) were utilized for …