Showcase

Herbs for dairy

In India, there is a rich tradition in the use of herbs for animal health. This case study sheds light on how effective these remedies are. Parallelly, we research which climate change (re)emerging diseases in cattle in the Netherlands there are and which nature-based solutions could be adequate. We exchanged experiences between farmers and scientists in both India and the Netherlands as well. This page is dedicated to share the first results.

Ethnoveterinary medicine in India

Ethnoveterinary medicine is defined as the combination of knowledge, skills, and practices based on the experiences, theories and beliefs in indigenous cultures that are used for healing animals. Ethnoveterinary medicine in India has an estimated 3000 years documented tradition. It appears to be very effective to treat dairy cows for most common diseases. Furthermore, it reduces the costs for farmers and the amount of antibiotic residues in milk.

Read more (PDF download) about how prof. M.N. Balakrishnan Nair (TDU, India) and dr. M.J. Groot (WUR, the Netherlands) are researching this subject.

Medicinal herbs encyclopedia

In this report the herbs that are grown for animal and human health in herbal gardens in villages in India are described. The plants are described according to the following format: plant name and family, description, native to, properties, uses, traditional use, side effects and propagation. In this report 26 of the most used herbs are described.

Herbs in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands the use of herb-rich meadows is gaining interest. Both to improve biodiversity in soil, plants, insect life and birds as well as for cows health. It appears that cattle diseases change over time due to climate change. Recently, dr. M.J. Groot researched climate change (re)emerging diseases in cattle in the Netherlands. Read more on the Research@WUR page.

Exchange between India and the Netherlands

In October 2021, dr. Balakrishnan Nair (India) and dr. Maria Groot (Netherlands) organised a seminar. The goal of the meeting was to exchange experiences between farmers and scientists. We are looking back on a successful seminar and new contacts. Read more (PDF download) in the full report of the seminar.