The Halari breed of donkeys being reared on a farm at Jallipalli in Kuderu mandal of Anantapur district.
| Photo Credit: R.V.S. PRASAD
Adjacent to the NHAI toll plaza in Kuderu mandal’s Jallipalli lies a sprawling 10-acre enclosure on which roam 28 donkeys, belonging to couple Tejaswini and Venkatesh.
Tejaswini, an engineering diploma holder, and Venkatesh, as soon as a profitable railway contractor, gave up their professions and invested ₹45 lakh into their enterprise thought — establishing a farm to boost ‘Halari’ donkeys, a particular breed identified for its distinctive milk.
Ms. Tejaswini and Mr. Venkatesh are amongst a rising variety of entrepreneurs to take a position in donkey farms. In an interplay with The Hindu, the couple revealed fascinating insights into the popularisation of the idea.
“Similar projects have come up in Nellore, East Godavari, West Godavari and in a few places in North Andhra. The investments are being driven by a growing interest in donkey milk, which is highly regarded for its supposedly wide range of health benefits. A litre of the donkey milk sells for close to ₹2,000,” Mr. Venkatesh says.
The ‘Halari’ breed enjoys plenty of demand attributable to its high quality of milk, explains Mr. Venkatesh. “A Halari donkey aged between five and seven years commands a price of up to ₹1.50 lakh. We rear 28 donkeys, each of which produces nearly two litres of milk a day. However, local demand is yet to pick up and we are trying to sell the milk to a procurer in Tamil Nadu, who has promised ₹1,200 to ₹1,500 a litre. Locally, a very small quantity of milk is sold via word of mouth as the Food Safety and Standards Authority is yet to certify donkey milk for commercial sale,” Mr. Venkatesh says.
“We spend close to ₹1.50 lakh a month on the maintenance of the animals, under the supervision of a man from Gujarat who is an expert in the field and advises donkey-rearers all over the country,” Ms. Tejaswini says.
Some have experimented with infusing this milk into different dairy merchandise. While donkey’s milk doesn’t have a definite style, it would grow to be a brand new rage in the State much like the demand for emu milk witnessed a number of years in the past, Animal Husbandry officers mentioned.
Illegal slaughter
However, there are issues about unlawful slaughter of donkeys for their meat which threaten to disrupt the donkey milk trade. “Awareness needs to be generated against the indiscriminate slaughter of donkeys,” say Priya Pandey and Sarita Negi, representatives of Brookes India, which is the solely credible NGO conducting countrywide campaigns on the concern.
“There is a huge demand for the gelatin that is extracted from donkey skins which is used in beauty products. As a result, the donkey population in China has fallen from 11 million in 1990 to three million today. Now, they are sourcing donkeys from across the world,” Ms. Sarita and Ms. Priya mentioned.
