Amreli: In a significant development for the state’s animal husbandry and dairy sector, a Gir calf has been born through advanced in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) for the first time at the Embryo Transfer Laboratory of the Gujarat Livestock Development Board (GLDB) in Amreli.

To ensure that cattle breeders in Gujarat benefit from modern breeding technologies, the GLDB had established a state-of-the-art embryo transfer laboratory in Amreli, located within the breeding tract of the state’s prized Gir cattle.

Animal Husbandry Minister Jitubhai Vaghani said embryo transfer using IVF technology was initiated last year at the Varudi laboratory in Amreli with technical support from the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). In the initial phase, embryos were transferred into 13 recipient animals. Recently, a pure Gir calf was successfully born from a Kankrej-breed recipient cow using the modern embryo transfer technique. The embryo was sourced from a high-genetic-potential Gir cow, ensuring that the newborn calf carries the same superior genetic traits as the donor animal.

Encouraged by this success, the department plans to carry out embryo transfer in about 30 additional recipient animals at the Amreli laboratory in the near future. Officials believe these efforts will provide a major boost to Gir cattle breeding in the state and further strengthen Gujarat’s leadership in the White Revolution.

Why IVF and embryo transfer matter for animal husbandry

Normally, a high-genetic-potential female animal produces only seven to eight calves in its lifetime. Advanced technologies such as IVF significantly expand this potential. In the IVF process, eggs from genetically superior donor animals are fertilised in a laboratory, and the resulting embryos are implanted into recipient (surrogate) cows with normal or lower productivity.

Calves born through IVF inherit the superior genetic qualities of the donor animal. As a result, instead of just a few offspring, dozens of high-quality calves can be produced from a single superior animal over time. Wider adoption of this technology is expected to increase the population of high-yield cattle in Gujarat, enhance milk production, and strengthen the economic condition of livestock farmers. DeshGujarat