Abstract
Cattle among other livestock species available in Bangladesh are the most versatile component in relation to existing integrated agricultural farming system. Nearly 24.5 million heads of cattle are distributed throughout the country. These cattle are of multipurpose in providing milk, draught, meat and dung as fuel and organic fertilizer and strongly linked with the livelihood of people. About 90% of cattle of Bangladesh are of non-descript and indigenous in origin with low productivity compared to other existing exotic breeds and their crosses, but they are well adapted in the tropical harsh environment, have ability to maintain their body condition on poor quality feed stuffs and are well resistant to local diseases. Among the indigenous some types of cattle in different region of the country like Red Chittagong, Pabna, North Bengal Grey and Munshiganj are far better producer than other in the existing low input management system. All of them are of Zebu type having developed hump and assumed that they have evolved in the areas over the country through natural selection and breeding among themselves for a long historic period and farmers’ interest. Breeding tract of these cattle are characterized as low, flat and fertile land except the hilly region a bit in the northeast and the southeast and some areas of high land in the north and northwestern part. Non-descript Deshi category of cattle are found everywhere in the country with no definite characteristics and constitute about 90% of the indigenous cattle providing wide range of diversity and are of main source of drought power for the subsistence farming system of the country. Red Chittagong cattle found in the Chittagong district (Chittagong coastal plain zone) having distinct identity with attractive Red body color, delicious milk and meat compared to other indigenous make them top preferred in that region. In terms of big body size and good milk production Pabna type cattle are found in the northern low-lying basins around the estuary of Pabna region and Jamuna River. North Bengal Grey found scatteredly in the northern district of Bangladesh (Tista meander-flood plain and lower atria basin zone). They possess good body size and some draft features and famous as a cart bullock in the market. Another improved variety of cattle i.e. Munshiganj type mostly of creamy to dull pinkish coat color with milk type body conformation and have great demand as milk cow in the surrounding regions. Since 1930’s several attempts were taken scatterly to increase their production potential through infusion of foreign genes (both sub-continental and temperate) for different periods but no remarkable achievement were attached.

The major constraints to cattle development in the country are lack of quality breeds / seeds, lack of feeds and their cost, disease outbreaks, lack of effective vaccines and medicines and uncontrolled / fluctuating market prices. Decline in fallow / grazing land and human population pressure are the main reasons for slow growth of cattle farming. Cattle development through the application of science-led methods of breeds and breeding in Bangladesh is still at a rudimentary stage, without any defined national strategy or concrete vision. With rapid expansion of crossbreeding and urbanization, the indigenous cattle genetic resources of Bangladesh are under threat of extinction. Conservation of promising indigenous cattle genetic resources through utilization following pure breeding program and farmer managed in-situ approaches may be an appropriate approach for cattle development and rural livelihood enhancement in Bangladesh.

Key word: Genetic resources, Indigenous cattle, Bangladesh

Introduction
Cattle among other livestock species available in Bangladesh are the most versatile component in relation to existing integrated agricultural farming system. Nearly 24.0 million heads of cattle are distributed throughout the country (FAO, 2003.). Besides this large population they do not conform any particular breed or type and broadly known as Indigenous / Local cattle. Along with Indigenous some imported improved breeds and their crosses with Indigenous / Local (not exceeding 10%) constitutes the national herd. These Indigenous cattle are of multipurpose in providing milk, draught, meat and dung as fuel and organic fertilizer. The production performances of Local cattle are far below economic level but adapted to existing farming system and harsh environmental circumstances. Among the Indigenous some types of cattle (Mason, 1988) found in Chittagong, Pabna, North Bengal, Manikgonj and Munshigonj areas are far better producer than others in the existing management system. Since 1930’s several attempts were taken scatterly to increase their production potential through infusion of foreign genes for different periods but no remarkable achievement were attached. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to summarize the information available on these valuable animal genetic resources so that it would be helpful for designing future Indigenous cattle breeding and improvement strategy in the country.

Cattle Number and Their Trends
The total cattle population of the country is about 24.5 million, which is about 1.79% of the world and 5.47% of Asian cattle population (FAO, 2004a). In the last 10 years the cattle population has increased by 0.3% in contrast with 0.4% of the world. Number of cattle per livestock household is 3.5 (Saadullah and Hossain, 2000) and that of 0.94 for all household (BBS, 2002). There is no statistics of cattle yet according to type / variety in the country. Number of different category of cattle is shown in Table-1 and figure.1 shows the general distribution of cattle throughout the country.

Table 1: Cattle population in Bangladesh

Source: Census of Agriculture, 1996

Table 2: Contribution of cattle

Source: SAIC (2003)

* Total Meat by cattle + buffalo + goat + sheep + chicken + duck
** Total Milk: cow + buffalo
*** Hides and Skin: cattle + goat + sheep

Bangladesh with some 147570 sq. k. m. area lies in the northeastern part of South Asia between 20024’ and 26038’ north latitude and 88001’ and 92041’ east longitude. The county consists of low, flat and fertile land except the hilly regions in the northeast and the southeast and some areas of high lands in the north and northwestern part. A network of about 230 rivers and their tributaries with a total length of about 24140 k. m. covering the country flow down the Bay of Bengal. Heavy silts deposited by rivers during the rainy season are thus continuously enriching the alluvial soil. The mean annual temperature is about 26oC with an extreme range between about 4oC and 43oC except on the coastal regions. Mean monthly temperature ranges between about 18oC in January and 30oC in April-May. Ground-frost is occasionally experienced in exposed parts of the hill areas. The average annual rainfall of the country varies from 1429 to 4338 mm. The 80% of the rainfall occur in Monsoon which covers July to October of the year (BBS, 2002)

Management Practices
Smallholder farmers maintain the majority of the animals adjunct to crop agriculture as having significant dependence on livestock with little or no outside labor and with returns that provide subsistence but little for saving, capital investment or for the purchase of external agriculture inputs. The animals are generally maintained on crop residues and other agricultural by-products. Rice straw is the basic feed item satisfying over 80 % roughage needs throughout the country. Grazing animals on roadside, fallow land, riverbank or on lands from where crops has been harvested when available partially fulfilling the green roughage requirement. Whereas in some milk pocket areas particularly in Bhaghabarighat, Sirajgong; Takerhat, Faridpur; etc green fodder are available from November to April and next of the year animals are raised on rice straw and preserve fodder. Rice polish, wheat / pulse bran etc as concentrate sources are playing important role in livestock enterprises throughout the country in variable level. In hilly areas, no attention is thrown for nutritional management except in few cases when cattle are reared for milk yield. In farm conditions improved feeding and management practices are followed throughout the year.

Cattle Genetic Resources
Indigenous / Local, some exotic pure (temperate and sub-continental) and their crosses with Indigenous are the component of cattle genetic resources of Bangladesh. The Indigenous cattle constitute nearly 90% of the population. The Indigenous cattle of Bangladesh may be described as the following types / varieties.

Non-descript Deshi. This category of Indigenous cattle are found everywhere of the country has no definite characteristics and constitute about 80% of Indigenous cattle population of the country. Their coat color varies from red, grey, white, black or a mixture of them in different proportion. They are of various sized animals possessing high level of phenotypic variation for most of the economic traits. They are of sole source of draught power of the subsistence farming system of the country. The body measurement, distribution pattern, production and reproduction performances of this type of cattle are given in Tables 3, 4, 5 and 6 respectively. The photographs of typical Deshi male & female are shown in Fig. 2a and Fig. 2b

Red Chittagong This variety of cattle has their distinct identity that differs it from other types of cattle found in Bangladesh. The coat color of Red Chittagong Cattle (RCC) is red (deep as well as light), their muzzle, eyeball, eyebrow, tail switch and hoof are whitish/ brick red in color and small headed, its body size is comparatively small but physical condition is very strong and stout (Habib et al. 2003, Hossain et al, Khan et al. 1999 and Hasnath, 1974). Males are heavier than female (150 to 400kg vs 150 to 200kg; FAO, 2004b). It is found more or less everywhere in Chittagong district and Chittagong Hill Tract region but is rare in other parts of the country. Average number of Red Chittagong per holding in the habitat area varied from 1.68 to 3.54 (FAO, 2004b). A relatively higher concentration of RCC is found in the upazillas of Raozan, Anawara, Potia, Chandonaish, and Bashkhali. The photographs of typical RCC male and female are shown in Fig. 3a and Fig. 3b respectively. Attractive coat color with delicious milk and meat compared to other Indigenous made peoples first preference to have RCC in their family. The body measurement, distribution pattern, production and reproduction performances of this type of cattle are given in Tables 3, 4, 5 and 6 respectively.

Fig 3. a. Photograph of a Red Chittagong bull.	b. Photograph of a Red Chittagong cow.

Fig 4. a. Photograph of a Pabna type cow with suckling.	b. Photograph of a Pabna type cow.

North Bengal Grey Grey coat colored cattle are found scattered in the northern districts of Bangladesh, known as North Bengal Grey (NBG) variety. Dark shades are usually observed in hump region of bulls with advancement of maturity. They are of good size and possess draft features. This variety of cattle has good market as cart bullock (Nasim, 1965). But presently they are under pressure of extinction due to indiscriminate crossbreeding and no attention on them. The photographs of typical NBG male and female are shown in Fig.5a and Fig. 5b respectively. Remarkable variation in milk yield, birth weight, age at maturity, calving interval and other traits has been observed in a recent study on this variety (Al-Amin, 2004). The body measurement, distribution pattern, production and reproduction performances of this type of cattle are given in Tables 3, 4, 5 and 6 respectively.

Fig 5. a. Photograph of a North Bengal grey type bull.	b. Photograph of a North Bengal grey type heifer.

Munshiganj Another improved variety of cattle found in Munshigonj, Manikgonj and adjunct areas of the districts. This is a typical milk type variety, mostly of creamy to dull pinkish in coat colour and looks different from other varieties. The cows are good milker and have great demand as milk cows in the surrounding localities and Dhaka city (Nasim, 1965). The photographs of typical Munshigonj male and female are shown in Fig. 6a and Fig. 6b respectively.

Fig 6. a. Photograph of a Munshiganj type bull.	b. Photograph of a Munshiganj type cow.

Table 3: Body measurement of Indigenous cattle

^N Namikawa et al (1984), ^H Habib et al. 2003, ^A Al-Amin, 2004.

The positive attributes of above mentioned Indigenous cattle of the country according to Bhuiyan (1997) can be summarized as:
Small size and hence lower metabolic heat production and lower feed requirement
a. More resistant to prevailing local diseases and parasites
b. Adaptable to a wide range of environmental condition
c. Thrive very well in fluctuating nutrient supply condition (draught, flood and natural calamities)
d. Low calf mortality (less than 5-6%)
e. Possess a lot of more unique characteristics e.g. 8-10 calves in life time
f. High phenotypic variation
g. Regular breeder
h. Better utilizer of low quality roughages
In contrast the major threats to Indigenous cattle are (a) scarcity of pure high yielding Indigenous breeding bull, (b) indiscriminate national crossbreeding programme, (c) lack of well planned initiative for sustainable conservation and development programme for Indigenous and (d) farmers preference on crossbred to meet immediate need.

Origin of Indigenous Cattle
The non-descript Indigenous cattle of Bangladesh are of Zebu type having developed hump. It is assumed that they have evolved in this area over the centuries for natural selection and farmers’ interest on draft power to perform agricultural practices. Therefore, their production performances in terms of meat and milk are far below than specialized breeds as no selection pressure or attention was paid either on milk or meat yield from very beginning of domestication. The Pabna and North Bengal Grey varieties have evolved from crossbred foundation with mainly Hariana, Tharparker and Sahiwal bulls distributed in these localities in 1936 and an intensive visual selection during the last 1930-1950. However, in the Pabna region continual infusion of Sahiwal, Australian Friesian Sahiwal (AFS), Holstein-Friesian and Jersey are in process. On the other hand, there is no evidence of foreign blood in Red Chittagong and Munshigonj varieties. These two varieties have been developed in the locality by natural selection and breeding among themselves for a long historic period (Nasim, 1965).

Distribution of Indigenous cattle in Bangladesh

Table 4: Distribution pattern of Indigenous cattle

# Farming system

¹Majid et al., 1995; ²Sultana and Bhuiyan, 1997; ³Hossain and Routledge, 1982; ⁴Udo et al., 1990; ⁵ Matin, 1993, ⁶Ghose et al., 1977; ⁷Husain and Mostafa, 1985; ⁸Bhuiyan & Faruque, 1993, ⁹Hasnath, 1974; ¹⁰Uddin, 2001; ¹¹Habib et al. 2003; ¹²Ahmed and Islam, 1987; ¹³Khan et al., 1999; ¹⁴Hoque et al., 1999 and ¹⁵Roy, 1999, ¹⁶Rahman et al., 2001; ¹⁷Khan et al., 2001; ¹⁸FAO, 2004b; Alam et al., 1994,
Table 6: Reproduction performance of Indigenous cattle

¹Majid et al., 1995; ²Sultana and Bhuiyan, 1997; ³Hossain and Routledge, 1982; ⁴Udo et al., 1990; ⁵ Matin, 1993, ⁶Ghose et al., 1977; ⁷Husain and Mostafa, 1985; ⁸Bhuiyan & Faruque, 1993, ⁹Hasnath, 1974; ¹⁰Uddin, 2001; ¹¹Habib et al. 2003; ¹²Ahmed and Islam, 1987; ¹³Khan et al., 1999; ¹⁴Hoque et al., 1999 and ¹⁵Roy, 1999, ¹⁶Rahman et al., 2001; ¹⁷Khan et al., 2001; ¹⁸FAO, 2004b; Alam et al., 1994,

Past Breeding Programme
The history cattle development through breeding in Bangladesh (Bhuiyan, 1997; Jellinek, 1991; Ahmed and Islam, 1987) began long before its partition. In 1915, the Zaminder of Gopalnagar, Pabna purchased a pregnant Sahiwal cow by an indirect route that born a pure Sahiwal bull- the first pure exotic bull in the country. The impressive size of the bull and its progeny performance made people enthusiastic to have such cattle in their family. From this the number of Sahiwal bull was increased in the Pabna district. In 1930, Tejgaon Dairy Farm, Dhaka was established with Hariana breed for Animal Husbandry education in Agriculture College and production and distribution of Hariana bull throughout the country.

In the same year Sylhet Dairy Farm was established with Sahiwal breed for Animal Breeding research and milk supply to the Sylhet city. In 1937, a more scientific approach from the standpoint of cattle breeding was undertaken by the then Indian Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, to upgrade the Indigenous zebu cattle of Bangladesh. With about 1000 pure Hariana bulls from Northern India, the project was implemented in Godagari in Rajshahi; Shahajadpur in Sirajgong; Sathia, Bera, Pabna Sadar in Pabna, Manikgonj, Munshigonj, Narshindi in Dhaka, Madaripur, Gopalgonj in Faridpur, Brahmanbaria in Comilla and Austagram, Kuliarchar in Mymensingh region. A noticeable genetic change was occured in Indigenous cattle. But this programme was not continued after partition of India in 1947. And the distribution of cattle was resumed in that areas with Sindhi and Sahiwal breed from Pakistan. During the later part of 50th decade (1957-58) the Artificial Insemination (AI) program using Sindhi and Sahiwal breed was launched for upgrading Local cattle.

At the end of 50th, an animal husbandry expert of Bagdad Pact suggested to develop and improve two breeds viz. Red Chittagong and Pabna Grey (the Grey cattle of North Bengal) for dual purpose as milk and draft power but the plan for development and improvement by selection were not implemented (Shahjalal and Islam, 2001).

In 1960, Savar Dairy Farm was established with milch type Zebu cattle like Sindhi, Sahiwal, and Tharparker from Pakistan. The objectives of the farm were to carry out (i) fundamental research in livestock breeding problem and to evolve one or two cattle breed suitable for the country (ii) fundamental research on nutrition problem and to evolve good varieties of fodder and (iii) milk production and supply to Dhaka city.

In the year 1969, a bilateral technical assistance program with Germany was under taken to develop necessary infrastructure in the farm for future cattle breeding program. In 1973, 125 heads of Friesian and Jersey cattle were imported to Savar Dairy Farm from Australia. Availability of those Bos taurus cattle in the farm opened a new dimension in cattle breeding program. During 1973-1976, study was conducted on milk yield performance of different F1 crossbreds. The milk production performance of these animals in F1 generation both by crossing with Local (Deshi) and pure breeding gave satisfactory results over that of upgrading program with Sindhi-Sahiwal breeds. On the basis of such study a breeding policy was devised in 1976 that was approved by the government in 1982. This policy envisages that the cattle of urban, semi-urban, and milk pocket areas would be upgraded by bulls with 50% Friesian and 50% Sahiwal blood. The bulls having 50% Friesian and 50% Local (Deshi) blood would be used for upgrading cattle of rural areas for milk production. Meanwhile, artificial insemination (AI) and fodder improvement program was extended to 23 district AI centers with 515 sub-centers and 520 insemination points with the objective of cattle improvement through infusion of exotic blood in terms of draft power, milk and beef. The operation of AI through development of frozen semen facility was completed during 1970s. During 1980s and 1990s government bull breeding herds were continued to develop for production of pure and crossbreed bulls by improved Local, Sahiwal, AFS and Friesian breeds of cattle. Frozen semen of exotic dairy bulls was also imported during these decades from Germany, USA, France, Australia and Japan and used in artificial insemination programme. However, the existing government AI program covers only around 15% of the cattle and about 2.5 millions of crossbred cattle have been produced to date. These cattle are maintained mainly in the government, institutional and co-operative (Milk Vita) farms and by the people in the urban and semi-urban areas for milk production following high-input and high-output management system.

In 1995, experimental level embryo transfer technology was introduced in The Government Central Cattle Breeding Station (CCBS) Savar, Dhaka, with the help of Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) with some success in multiple ovulation and embryo transfer (MOET). The breeding policy formulated in 1982 was in operation up to 1997 and some revision in that policy was brought in 1997. The 1997 revised breeding policy entails:

i. For intensive dairy production system implement breeding and dairy farming with 50%F and 50% Deshi cattle and for that matter follow long term Open Nucleus Cross Breeding System (ONCS).
ii. For extensive traditional cattle production system implement breeding programme with improved Deshi cattle of Pabna, Red Chittagong etc. following Open Nucleus Breeding System (ONBS).

On-going Breeding Programme
Government AI and ETPproject. Government has launched “Artificial insemination activities extension and embryo transfer technology implementation” project since 2002 for strengthening AI activities throughout the country and will continue upto 2007. It is complementary project to existing AI network activities (which had the onset in 1975 based at Central Cattle Breeding and Dairy Farm, Savar, Dhaka) all over the Bangladesh upto upzilla level (lowest administrative unit). Gradually, the activities of the project will be extended upto union level. In this connection a training programme on AI has been conducted at CCBS to trainup1000 inseminators. The project is being implemented by government fund at an amount of TK. 443.7 million with the objectives of- (1) production of high productive animals, (2) to increase the number of quality breeding bulls as well as quantity of semen, (3) to familiarize and encourage AI activities at grass root level and to the private entreprauners, (4) to practice embryo transfer technology in the nucleus herd at CCBS and (5) to establish a nucleus herd at CCBS with animals of high genetic merit.

Government Breed Up-gradation project. Government has undertaken a massive programme entitled “Breed Up-gradation through Progeny Test" for improvement of cattle genetic resources of Bangladesh. This project is being implemented by Government of Bangladesh (GOB) with a fund amounting TK. 98 million since 2002 and is expected to continue upto 2007. In this programme emphasis is given to maintain Pure Native line, Pure Sahiwal line and Native × Exotic cross line. Through bull dam identification, potential young bulls are being tested, growth trialed and being tested for final selection. The project is implementing since 2002 in 22 greater districts having District AI Centers and Central Cattle Breeding Station (CCBS), Savar, Dhaka. Major objectives of the project are (i) production of superior proven bulls, (ii) identification of high yielding cows and heifers, (iii) year-wise genetic gain and productivity improvement of cattle through planned mating, (iv) conservation and improvement of Native (Deshi) cattle genetic resources, (v) production and identification of superior animals suitable for Embryo Transfer (ET) and (vi) increasing milk and meat production.
Characterization, Conservation and Improvement of Red Chittagong Cattle. A programme for conservation involving identification, characterization, improvement and utilization of Red Chittagong Cattle following the scientific concept of Open Nucleus Breeding System (ONBS) was initiated since 2004 with an initial tenure of five years through USDA funding. The project is being carried out in collaboration with US scientists having a nucleus herd at the Bangladesh Agricultural University with its farmer societies located in the Chandanaish and Anwara upazilla of Chittagong district. This project is being undertaken incorporating multidisciplinary approaches of animal production such as breeding, nutrition, management and preventive animal health care. The main goal of the project is development of a small dairy breed utilizing the germplasm of Red Chittagong cattle (RCC) under the appropriate feeding and management practices. The expected outputs of the project are to develop need based technology to conserve with a concomitant improvement of the Red Chittagong Cattle both at farm (ex-situ) and village conditions (in-situ); provide a chain to distribute the development achieved on-station to the wider RCC population in the Chittagong area of the country and produce a group of trained manpower in the field of cattle breeding, nutrition, dairy production and preventive health care along with cattle raisers at the villages having knowledge on scientific and profitable methods of dairy cattle production.

Cattle breeding activity of BRAC. The BRAC, an NGO provides AI service to some of their client groups. In a very limited scale and on experimental basis BRAC started AI services using DLS liquid semen in 1985 in an area of Manikgong district. With trained AI technicians BRAC has started trial semen production (19 bulls to date) from May, 2000. However, this NGO has established its own bull station and started actual semen production from November, 2000 and has a production capacity of 5,00,000 doses of straw per annum. BRAC is producing and distributing semen in the frozen form only. By now they have trained 1279 AI technicians and operating AI services through 89 points which are located outside the government coverage. The cost for single doses of home to home BRAC semen is TK. 70. They supplied 77761, 121486 and 176710 doses of semen in 2003, 2004 and 2005 respectively. BRAC is in the process to expand their AI services.

The FAO’s SoW Country Report. Bangladesh has prepared and submitted the final version of FAO’s State of the World’s (SoW) Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR). According to that report the available Genetic Resources of cattle in Bangladesh have been classified as i) Native, ii) Pabna, iii) Red Chittagong, iv) Munshigonj, v) North Bengal Grey, vi) Crossbred cattle, vii) Exotic breed (Holstein Friesian, Sahiwal, Sindhi and Jersey).
In that report, the national cross-cutting priorities for conservation and development of cattle genetic resources have taken into consideration. The report further suggested that in the context of Bangladesh, national priorities on the conservation, development and use of animal genetic resources would be based more towards meeting he public priorities such as, food security, poverty reduction and employment generation through exploration of both native and as well as, where essential, exotic breeds in sustainable manner.

Discussion
The major constraints to cattle production are lack of quality breeds / seeds, lack of feeds and their cost, disease outbreaks, lack of effective vaccines and medicines and uncontrolled / fluctuating market prices. Decline in fallow / grazing land and human population pressure are the main reason for slow growth of cattle farming. Cattle development through the application of science-led methods of breeds and breeding in Bangladesh is still at a rudimentary stage, without any defined national strategy or concrete vision. There is a big enthusiasm in applying breeds and breeding interventions to enhance livestock productivity, but lack of national breeding policy, use of inappropriate (unsustainable) breed / type, weak infra-structure (human capacity, national service delivery, breeding farms etc), limited technical know-how and unclear marketing possibilities are major constraints to their sustainability. A serious lack of trained personnel in breeds and breeding (geneticist and breeder) is observed everywhere (extension, research and education level - both public and private). A few organizations have few trained specialists, but physical infrastructures are lacking, while the opposite is true for most of the organizations to lead breeds and breeding activity.
With rapid expansion of crossbreeding and urbanization, the said cattle genetic resources of Bangladesh are under threat of extinction. The most successful way could be through genetic screening and open nucleus breeding strategies (ONBS) for the improvement of most promising indigenous breeds / types. The programs may operate through both selection and distribution of males to participating and non-participating village farmers on agreed breeding goals. Another way may be through sire selection and multiplication for distribution. The said approaches will not only improve the indigenous genetic material but will also conserve them in situ for the benefit of the livestock keepers. There is possibility of achieving success with this approach due to the fact that the strategies will be based on the indigenous animal populations under their adaptive environments. For example, animal breeding philosophy in many European countries near the end of the last century stressed the importance of local populations which resulted in the development of a large number of local breeds of various species. So, conservation through utilization following pure breeding programme may be useful for cattle development in Bangladesh. Regionally resourceful farmers’ participatory in-situ approaches could be initiated for germplasm development and rural livelihood enhancement. Farmer managed nucleus villages such as “Red Chittagong cattle village” with very best screened breeding samples could be established. The said villages would be the source of best seed material production and distribution in the said indigenous cattle population of Bangladesh. Exchange of male among the nucleus villages would ensure further enhancement of those valuable genetic resources.

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