Exploration of breeding and production conditions of Red Sindhi, Cholistani, and non-descript cattle: a prerequisite towards the development of a community-based breeding program.

The establishment of community-based breeding programs necessitates the identification of prevalent breeding practices and the characterization of associated production systems. This study investigates the breeding and production conditions of Red Sindhi, Cholistani, and non-descript cattle across four districts in Punjab, Pakistan. Data were collected through a field survey utilizing a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 450 randomly selected farmers. The findings reveal that the majority of respondents were male and served as the primary decision-makers in their households. A significant challenge to cattle production, as identified by the farmers, was the high cost of concentrate feed. When assessing milk production on a five-point scale, 46% of Red Sindhi and 48% of Cholistani cattle farmers rated their animal’s performance as “moderate,” whereas 40% of non-descript cattle farmers rated their animals as “good” for this trait. Milk production emerged as the primary objective for raising cattle, and nearly all farmers of the studied breeds expressed a preference for future improvements in this area. Red Sindhi and Cholistani cattle farmers predominantly employed natural mating as their breeding method, whereas artificial insemination (AI) was favored by the majority of non-descript cattle farmers. Given the preference for natural mating due to the high cost of Artificial Insemination and the potential for community-based breeding programs to provide access to superior local breeding bulls, such programs are deemed viable for enhancing milk production in Red Sindhi and Cholistani cattle. Conversely, considering farmers’ preferences and the demonstrated effectiveness of AI using exotic semen, this method is identified as a more suitable strategy for improving milk production in non-descript cattle.