Buffalo Breeds in India: Characteristics and Uses

India holds the largest buffalo population in the world, with over 109 million buffaloes spread across its diverse agroclimatic zones. These animals are not just livestock – they are the foundation of India’s dairy economy, supplying rich, high-fat milk that is central to everyday foods like ghee, paneer, and curd. Understanding the major buffalo breeds, their physical traits, and their production roles is essential for anyone working in animal husbandry or livestock production.

River type vs swamp type: the two broad categories 🔗

All domesticated buffaloes in India belong to the species Bubalus bubalis, but they fall into two ecologically distinct types. The river buffalo is found predominantly in the Indian subcontinent, while the swamp buffalo is distributed from Assam westward through Southeast Asia. The two types differ not only in geography but also in chromosome count – river buffaloes have 50 chromosomes and swamp buffaloes have 48 – and in their primary economic purpose.

River buffaloes are adaptable across a wide range of environmental conditions and are primarily raised for milk, while swamp buffaloes are kept mainly for draught work. In India, the river type dominates, and it is from this type that the country’s best-known dairy breeds have been developed. River buffaloes constitute approximately 70 percent of the world’s water buffalo population, and their milk production capacity – ranging from 1,500 to 4,500 litres per lactation – far exceeds that of the swamp type.

Major river-type buffalo breeds of India 🔗

India officially recognises 13 buffalo breeds through the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR). Among these, six breeds – Murrah, Nili-Ravi, Jaffarabadi, Bhadawari, Surti, and Mehsana – are regarded as the country’s premier milch breeds, all originating from the northern and western states.

Murrah: India’s highest-yielding dairy buffalo 🔗

The Murrah is widely considered the most important buffalo breed in India and is often called the “black gold” of Indian dairying. Its home tract spans Rohtak, Hisar, and Jind in Haryana, and Nabha and Patiala in Punjab. The breed is instantly recognizable by its jet-black coat and tightly curled, spiral horns – a distinguishing physical feature not found in most other breeds.

Murrah bulls are extensively used to upgrade non-descript buffalo stock across the country. In terms of production, average lactation yield ranges from 1,500 to 2,500 kg, with a butterfat content of around 7%. Elite animals can yield considerably more, and elite buffalo with up to 6,000 litres per lactation have been recorded in India and Italy. The Murrah’s adaptability has also earned it a place in the livestock industries of countries including Bulgaria, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Brazil.

Jaffarabadi: the largest Indian buffalo breed 🔗

The Jaffarabadi is a massive animal found in pure form in the Gir forests, with its breeding tract in Kutch and Jamnagar districts of Gujarat. It holds the distinction of being the heaviest buffalo breed in India. The breed has a very prominent, wide forehead with a slight depression in the middle, and its heavy horns droop at each side of the neck before curving upward at the tip – a shape less tightly curved than in the Murrah.

The Jaffarabadi’s average milk yield is around 1,100 kg per lactation over 305 days, with a fat content of 7.6%. Most Jaffarabadi herds are traditionally maintained by nomadic communities known as Maldharis in the Saurashtra region. The bullocks of this breed are heavy and are used for ploughing and carting, giving the Jaffarabadi a dual-purpose character beyond pure dairy use.

Bhadawari: champion of butterfat 🔗

The Bhadawari is a medium-to-large river-type buffalo from the Agra and Etawah districts of Uttar Pradesh and the Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh. Unlike most buffalo breeds which are black, the Bhadawari is distinctively copper or light-coloured, with two white lines called ‘Chevron’ visible at the lower side of the neck. Its hooves are black, its legs are short and stout, and its hindquarters sit higher than its forequarters.

What makes the Bhadawari exceptional is its milk composition. The butterfat content of Bhadawari milk ranges from 6.0 to as high as 12.5% – one of the highest of any dairy animal. This is attributed to the breed’s remarkable ability to convert coarse feed, including crop residues and roughage, into butterfat. Average milk yield ranges from 800 to 1,000 kg per lactation, which is lower than breeds like the Murrah, but the superior fat content makes its milk highly valuable for ghee production. The Bhadawari also has strong heat tolerance. The breed is known to be more resistant to disease and the effects of heat than other buffalo breeds, making it a reliable draught animal in hot, semi-arid conditions. However, the pure Bhadawari population has declined sharply due to crossbreeding with Murrah, and conservation efforts are now underway to preserve this valuable germplasm.

Mehsana: the Gujarat crossbreed 🔗

The Mehsana is a dairy buffalo breed native to the Mehsana, Sabarkantha, and Banaskantha districts of Gujarat. It is believed to have evolved through crossbreeding between the Surti and Murrah breeds. The Mehsana’s body is longer than the Murrah’s, with horns that are less tightly curved than those of the Murrah but longer and sometimes irregular in shape. The breed is predominantly black or dark brown.

Mehsana buffaloes are noted for good persistency in milk production, with yields of 1,200 to 1,500 kg per lactation. Their ability to produce steadily across a long lactation period makes them a preferred choice for commercial dairy operations in Gujarat and parts of Maharashtra.

Surti: small but efficient 🔗

The Surti originates from the Kaira and Baroda districts of Gujarat. It is a medium-sized breed with a coat that varies from rusty brown to silver-grey. One identifying feature is the presence of two white collar markings – one around the jaw and one at the brisket. The horns are sickle-shaped and moderately long. Milk yield ranges from 900 to 1,300 kg per lactation, with a notably high fat percentage of 8 to 12 percent. The Surti is well-adapted to semi-arid conditions and thrives on relatively modest feed inputs, making it an economically practical breed for smallholder farmers.

Nili-Ravi: the Punjab border breed 🔗

The Nili-Ravi breed is found in the Sutlej Valley in Ferozpur district of Punjab, with its population extending across the border into Sahiwal district in Pakistan. The breed is typically black with white markings on the forehead, legs, and tail, and is particularly noted for its characteristic “wall eyes” – a light-coloured iris considered a sign of breed purity. Milk yield ranges from 1,500 to 1,850 kg per lactation. Nili-Ravi buffaloes are valued for their calm temperament and longevity, often remaining productive across many lactation cycles.

Buffalo as a draught animal 🔗

Beyond milk production, buffaloes have long served as draught animals across India’s agricultural landscape. Water buffalo, adapted for life in wetlands, are important working animals used extensively in paddy field farming. Their large, wide hooves provide stable footing in waterlogged fields where tractors and lighter cattle cannot operate effectively. The buffalo can enter and work in rice fields, particularly in terraced areas where mechanisation is not an option.

In paddy-farming regions, swamp buffaloes are traditionally raised for draught purposes, whereas river buffaloes are kept for fresh milk and ghee production. Breeds with particularly strong bullocks, such as the Jaffarabadi and Nagpuri, are specifically noted for their draught capacity. Beyond ploughing, buffaloes are used for carting, threshing grain, and operating oilseed or sugarcane presses in many parts of rural India.

Swamp-type buffaloes in northeast India 🔗

The present-day domesticated buffalo is descended from Bos arni, found in the wild even today in the northeastern parts of India, especially Assam and surrounding areas. While most of India’s buffalo population belongs to the river type, swamp-type buffaloes are found in the northeastern states. Swamp buffaloes are heavy-bodied and stockily built, with a short body and large belly. They are adapted to marshy terrain, spending the hottest part of the day wallowing in mud or shallow water to regulate body temperature.

The swamp buffalo is found principally in swampy and marshy areas and in hot, humid climates; it must have near-unlimited access to water to keep cool. Its milk yield is considerably lower than that of river breeds, but its value lies primarily in providing draught power for rice cultivation in the hilly and flood-prone terrains of the northeast. In the Indian subcontinent, the river type is dominant, while in Southeast Asia the swamp type serves as the main draught power for paddy rice cultivation.

Buffalo meat and its place in the livestock system 🔗

Buffalo farming contributes more than 1.43 million tonnes of meat in addition to milk, hides, bones, and draught power for agricultural operations. However, India does not have a fully organised buffalo meat industry in the same way it has a dairy sector. Animals are typically slaughtered for meat consumption when they reach the end of their working lives, and they are often in poor condition at the time of slaughter.

Dairy farmers in many states prefer buffaloes over cows partly because water buffaloes can be sold for slaughter once they are past their milk cycle – a practical economic consideration given that cow slaughter is banned in most Indian states. This makes the buffalo a uniquely flexible livestock asset: productive for milk during its prime years and commercially viable at the end of its productive life.

Why buffalo breeds matter for Indian agriculture 🔗

India has been regarded as an extremely rich source of buffalo germplasm, harbouring all the recognised, high-producing breeds of this species. Buffaloes are more efficient converters of coarse fodder into milk solids than cattle, require fewer high-quality inputs, and are well-suited to India’s tropical climate and disease environment. Well-known specialised dairy buffalo breeds – including Murrah, Nili-Ravi, Kundi, Surti, Jaffarabadi, Bhadawari, and Mehsana – have made India and Pakistan the world’s leading buffalo milk producers. Institutions like the ICAR-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) and the Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB) in Hisar continue to work on genetic conservation and breed improvement to ensure these breeds remain productive for future generations of farmers.

What do you think? With the Bhadawari breed’s pure population declining due to crossbreeding pressure, should there be stronger policy-level intervention to conserve endangered indigenous buffalo breeds – and how might that affect farmers who depend on higher-yielding crosses for their income? Similarly, as mechanisation replaces draught animals in many parts of India, what alternative economic roles could swamp-type buffaloes play in northeastern farming communities?

References

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