Harit Dhara
Context
- Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institute has developed a feed supplement that reduces emissions and also boosts milk production.
About Harit Dhara:
- Harit Dhara acts by decreasing the population of protozoa microbes in the rumen, responsible for hydrogen production and making it available to the archaea for reduction of CO2 to methane.
Need of it:
- Belching cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats in India emit an estimated 9.25 million tonnes (mt) to 14.2 mt of methane annually, out of a global total of 90 mt-plus from livestock.
- An average lactating cow or buffalo in India emits around 200 litres of methane per day, while it is 85-95 litres for young growing heifers and 20-25 litres for adult sheep.
- Feeding Harit Dhara can reduce these by a fifth.
- Harit Dhara roughly costs Rs 6/kg and it is to be fed only to animals aged above three months having fully functional rumen.
- It also changes the composition of the volatile fatty acids that are the end-products of rumen fermentation (along with hydrogen and CO2).
Methane gas:
- Methane is gas that is found in small quantities in Earth's atmosphere.
- Methane is the simplest hydrocarbon, consisting of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms.
- Methane is flammable, and is used as a fuel worldwide. It is a principal component of natural gas.
- It’s global warming potential is 25 times of carbon dioxide (CO2) over 100 years, making it a more potent greenhouse gas.
- Methane is produced by animals having rumen, the first of their four stomachs where the plant material they eat – cellulose, fibre, starch and sugars – gets fermented or broken down by microorganisms prior to further digestion and nutrient absorption.
- Carbohydrate fermentation leads to production of CO2 and hydrogen.
2019 Livestock Census
- The 2019 Livestock Census showed India’s cattle population at 193.46 million, along with 109.85 million buffaloes, 148.88 million goats and 74.26 million sheep.
- Being largely fed on agricultural residues – wheat/paddy straw and maize, sorghum or bajra stover – ruminants in India tend to produce 50-100% higher methane than other country counterparts.
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