Sosamma Iype

Sosamma Iype is an Indian animal conservationist from Niranam, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala. She was the former Head of the Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding at the Kerala Veterinary University and was awarded the Padma Shri for the year 2022 by the Government of India for her services to conserve the Vechur cow, a native breed of cattle. She has devoted her life to the conservation of the Vechur cows and is often called "Vechur Amma," literally meaning mother of Vechur cows. Sosamma, who holds a PhD from the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana worked as Head of the Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding at the Kerala Veterinary University. Despite retiring from official life, Sosamma is still active in the Vechur Conservation Trust, an NGO formed for the conservation of domestic animals and birds of Kerala State.

Personal life She and her husband late Abraham Varkey (Retd. Professor of Surgery, Kerala Veterinary University) have two children Dr. Rebecca Varghese and George C Abraham. In the early nineties, Sosamma and her husband, Dr. Abraham Varkey, who was also a veterinarian, traveled for years with a group of young vet graduates to remote villages in the Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Kottayam districts in search of pure bred Vechur cows. At present there are about 7,000 Vechur cows in the state.

Opponents of the project have accused that the group is working against government policy by reintroducing an unproductive cattle breed. Award from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)