Rajasthan set to open dairy to promote camel milk

The country's first exclusive camel milk dairy is all set to start operations this month in Rajasthan.

The modest stock of 110 litres that the facility plans to conserve initially will also be made available in other states as per demand.

The dairy will rear 32 breeds of the most productive camels and will, besides marketing the milk in pouches and as value-added products such as flavoured milk and ice-cream, will also have a laboratory to study variations in production on account of seasonal changes.

The National Research Centre on Camel in the desert state's Bikaner district is all set to launch the dairy on May 15.

Therapeutic value

"It will start with a budget of Rs30 lakh (Dh264,222) and 100 camel breeders will be associated with it. It will follow scientific methods of storing milk and making different products from it," said Professor K.M.L. Pathak, the centre's director.

Pathak said the centre had begun studying the therapeutic value of camel milk and found evidence to suggest that it could be helpful in controlling diabetes.

"This centre has already developed a camel milk-based cosmetic cream and is now toying with the idea of swapping camel bone for ivory," said Pathak.

In the meantime, the Rajasthan Dairy Cooperative Federation is set to announce the introduction of products like cheese and paneer derived from camel milk in the market. The products would be made available in other towns of Rajasthan and in Delhi, to start with, says Federation project officer P.S. Kalra.

The Federation is selling camel milk at Rs16 per litre after procuring raw milk at Rs8-9 per litre. The milk is sold raw since pasteurisation reduces its power to bring down blood sugar levels. However, it is subjected to ultra-violet treatment to ensure proper standards of hygiene. Camel milk is rich in vitamin C and its insulin content is said to be high. It is beneficial for those with lactose intolerance and has low levels of fat that is also beneficial.

Rajasthan, which accounts for 70 per cent of the camel population in the country, has been witnessing an alarming decline in numbers of the animal. This disturbing trend that has been a major concern of camel breeders has now drawn the attention of the state government.

Insurance cover

The state is in the final stages of implementing an insurance scheme for camels.

According to state animal husbandry minister Prabhulal Saini, the department has been directed to provide insurance cover to the camels as well as to the respective breeders.

"This is the first step towards checking their declining numbers," he said.

Saini added that, to start with, the insurance cover would be provided to 5,000 camels.

The latest census of the camel population in Rajasthan puts the number at 4,98,000, a substantial decline from the 6,69,000 animals counted in 1997 and the figure of 7,46,000 recorded in 1992.