Nanotechnology and Ayurveda: Emerging Opportunity for Profitable Dairy Husbandry

Livestock development, dairy husbandry in particular, is an important source of food security and income generation for marginal and poor farmers in India and other developing countries. However, productivity of the livestock owned by small farmers is very low, because of inferior genetic base, nutritional deficiency and poor health care. While genetic improvement is being carried out by providing breeding services at the door steps of small farmers, balanced feeding and effective health care need greater attention. This paper identifies the problems faced by small livestock holders and identifies appropriate technologies which can benefit them. Application of nanotechnology and Ayurveda have good potential to provide effective treatment against major health problems such as infertility, metritis, mastitis, ecto and endo-parasites, while ensuring the supplementation of essential mineral nutrients. Nanotechnology for developing Ayurvedic medicines can be more effective than traditional herbal medicines and can significantly reduce the cost of treatment. Promising new generation products developed with this concept, such as ‘Roofert’ and ‘Rookare’ have been proving effective in controlling infertility, metritis and mastitis. There is a need for policy support and investment on research and development to tap the potential of these technologies for the benefit of dairy farmers.