The National Dairy Development Board has already initiated the following action in the areas of feeding / breeding to mitigate the effect of climate change as under:

• Launch of an All India programme for balancing the ration given to milk animals though specially developed computer software, which ensures balancing of energy, protein and minerals resulting in production of more microbial protein and less methane. In the field, the methane emission reduction in these milk animals is measured, using SF6 tracer technique. The reduction achieved is around 10-15%. The displayed photograph shows methane emission measurement of a milk producer’s buffalo being fed a balanced ration.
• As milk production in India is primarily based on feeding crop residues to milk animals it results in more acetic acid and methane production. Technology for enrichment of crop residues with urea, molasses, mineral etc., which would result in reduction of methane, is being promoted.
• NDDB in technical collaboration with ACIAR Australia has also developed by pass protein technology which enables efficient use of protein meals which also results in reduction of methane emission
• Programmes for improving the genetic merit of the milk animals are being undertaken which will lead to improved feed conversion efficiency leading in turn to reduction in methane emission per litre of milk

More details about the focus areas mentioned above are available in case studies from India which are available on this Green Paper website under categories Emissions reductions/Optimising animal feeding and Emissions reductions/Others