National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, New Delhi-110012.
Authors are grateful to Dr. Dayanath Jha, Dr. Y.K. Taneja and Dr. Mruthyunjaya for their valuable comments on an earlier draft of the paper. The comments of the referee are gratefully acknowledged.
Cumulative investment in research and extension of crossbreeding of cattle in India has been massive. However, systematic efforts to evaluate returns on this investment have been lacking. This study evaluates returns on investment in research and extension of crossbreeding cattle, and their welfare implications. Adoption of crossbred cattle has not been very impressive in India. Yet returns on investment have been quite substantial. The internal rate of return was estimated 55 percent and the benefit-cost ratio greater than 3. This benefited producers as well as consumers of milk, the gains being distributed in a ratio of 7:3. Since cattle resources are concentrated among the smallholders, they are expected to be the major beneficiaries of genetic improvements in cattle.
