Mustang. The advanced Jersey cattle farming business has started to flourish in Syang village of Gharpajhong Rural Municipality-3 of the district. In addition to earning a lot of income from the milk of the advanced cows, the advanced Jersey cattle farming business has been adopted to use manure-based fertilizer in the farmers’ fruit and vegetable gardens.
A decade and a half ago, hotels and restaurants in Jomsom and surrounding tourist villages in Mustang used to use powdered milk that was sealed in urban containers. When advanced Jersey cattle farming started in Syang village of Mustang, locals say that the powdered milk used here in packets has been replaced.
Now, 90 percent of the marketed powdered milk has been replaced in Mustang, informed Falendra Prasad Thakali, ward chairman of Gharpajhong-3. According to him, the main reason for the displacement of powdered milk in the district is the advanced Jersey cattle farming in Syang village. Thakali started raising advanced Jersey cattle in the village in the early stages.
Saying that he started raising cattle as a trial in the Himalayan region, Ward Chairman Thakali mentioned that other farmers in Syaug village started following suit after this business started to look effective.
After the Ward Chairman of Syang village introduced advanced Jersey cattle farming to the district at that time, Ward Chairman Thakali recalled that the former Animal Services Office and the former District Development Office introduced a subsidy program for the purchase of advanced Jersey cattle with the aim of increasing and promoting milk production.
Since advanced Jersey cows produce more milk than traditional Himalayan Lulu cows, Ward Chairman Thakali said that Mustang farmers are starting to be attracted towards advanced Jersey cattle rearing.
‘A decade ago, the Himalayan Sub-Project introduced the Advanced Jersey Cattle Rearing Program in Mustang. At that time, the project encouraged farmers in the district to rear advanced Jersey cattle with an 80 percent subsidy. Since then, the advanced cattle rearing business has been booming here,’ he said.
Apart from advanced cattle rearing, a Mustang dairy industry has also been established in Syang village. Farmers who have received subsidies through cooperatives will be able to take the milk of advanced cows to the dairy industry and sell it. Some farmers do not sell to the dairy but deliver it to the doorsteps via motorbike.
Ward Chairman Thakali informed that 40 households in Syang are currently raising more than 100 advanced Jersey cows. He is the first person to raise advanced Jersey cows in Mustang.
Ward Chairman Thakali said that since Syang is an agricultural-based village, it is very easy to sell milk and use cow excrement in the fields, and informed that more than 400 liters of milk are currently produced in Syang village daily.
Nima Fanchok Gurung, a local of Gharpajhong-3 Syang, has raised four advanced Jersey cows. Gurung, who started his cattle farming business ten years ago with 11 cows and one bull, said that the number has decreased due to competition in the milk market and the increase in the price of animal feed and grass.
Gurung said that the price of milk has not increased, but the price of feed and grass is expensive, so he is raising cows only for agricultural purposes. “Earlier, selling milk used to bring in a lot of income, but now, due to the high production in the village, the source of income has shrunk,” said Gurung. “I have been continuing to rear cows as fertilizer is needed for fruit and vegetable gardens.”
In the initial phase, more than 300 liters of milk were produced from 11 cows, but now only 40 liters are being sold daily, he said.
Although the demand for milk is high during the rainy season, the price has not increased due to lack of coordination among farmers, said cattle farmer Jeevan Thakali. According to him, advanced cattle farming, which started in Syang village of Mustang, has now spread to Thini, Marfa, Tukuche and Kagbeni in the district.
Farmers say that it is difficult to sell milk from advanced cows during the three months of winter, except during the tourist season. Local cattle farmers say that milk consumption is low during the winter season as the presence of tourists is low and the citizens of the district descend to the valley.
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