BL Agro to invest ₹3,000 crore in UP, Bihar, Rajasthan for cow breeding, dairy technology

Food processing minister Chirag Paswan on March 8 inaugurated the initiative at a function in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, where BL Agro is located and hoped that farmers get the best outcome of the new initiative.

Speaking to business line, CEO Navneet Ravikar on Tuesday (11 Mar ’25) said that BL Kamdhenu was launched in 2022, which is essentially through transfer of embryo technology to raise the population of indigenous cows with the objective to make those breeds high yielding in terms of milk production. As part of that initiative, the first centre of excellence for cow breeding and dairying technology in Uttar Pradesh was inaugurated in Bareilly, he added.

Under the ‘BL Kamdhenu’ initiative, BL Agro in partnership with a Brazilian firm, had initially planned to start the project from Gujarat, but moved to Uttar Pradesh after the government wanted to do the research through public sector funding in partnership with Brazilian Association of Zebu Breeders (ABCZ), though it is yet to materialise. “We are going to do analytical testing, use embryo transfer technology with Artificial Intelligence, letting the farmers to understand what to feed the cows, how much to feed, how much protein content carbs or green fodder, straws cows require as they would be trained under experts,” he said.

Further explaining the concept, Ravikar said: “For instance, we have Ganga Tiri in Gangetic belts and we have different kinds of cows in Himachal, which are climate resilient but they are not producing enough milk for the farmer to sustain. The idea is to create a better version of those breeds by doing some research including gene editing which can yield more milk and also remain climate resilient.”

BL Agro after producing better cow breeds, will hand over those to select farmers or a group of farmers for rearing after imparting them some trainings. The company also plans to set up its own feed plant soon to supply those to the farmers so that pre-mixed feed is available to them easily.

Asked if there will be any buy-back guarantee of milk from those farmers, he said BL Agro will be setting up chilling plants at different locations so that farmers do not have to run a long distance or negotiate with somebody else to sell the milk. A processing unit will be set up in Bareilly to produce milk-based products. “We will not be getting into milk distribution business, rather focus will be on ghee mozzarella, cheese and other milk-based products,” he added. In next five years, the company plans to set up processing units at different locations with a target to process 3 lakh litres per day. Ravikar also said that funding would be majorly through banks and many of them are ready to fund the initiative based on the sound financials of BL Agro.

Ashish Khandelwal, Managing Director of BL Agro said: “Our key focus has been to create sustainable and a circular economy that minimizes agri waste and boost the local community. The Centre of Excellence for Cow Breeding and Dairy Technology will also help farmers in achieving greater economic sustainability.”