सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
The practice of keeping one cow or buffalo per household has gradually started in Naraharinath Rural Municipality of Kalikot district. While it has been a tradition to keep one cow or buffalo per household, efforts are being made to attract farmers who have moved on to other professions back to animal husbandry.
There are 3,910 households in this rural municipality. According to the National Bureau of Statistics’ Agricultural Census 2078, there are 3,795 households that raise livestock in the rural municipality. The number of cows and bulls in the rural municipality is 4,436 and the number of rams and buffaloes is 4,210.
In Kotwada, Lalu, Malkot, Kumalgaun and Rupsa villages of Narharinath rural municipality, it is a tradition that every household must keep one cow or buffalo since ancient times. Although almost all households in the rural municipality raise dairy animals, there is no sale of milk and curd here, said Padam Singh Rawal, 70, of Lalu, Narharinath rural municipality-9. ‘In the past, milk and curd were not sold due to the common belief that selling milk would anger the gods,’ he said. ‘Nowadays, even though there is a market in the village, no one takes milk and curd to sell.’
Local farmers make ghee from cow and buffalo milk and reach distant markets for sale. Now that transportation facilities have been provided in the villages, there is no problem in selling ghee, said local resident Kat Bahadur Bista. He said, ‘In the past, ghee was collected and sold in the markets of Kailali, Nepalgunj and Surkhet, and the money from it was used to buy clothes.’
72-year-old Gaja Sarki of Nara Harinath Rural Municipality-9 Lalu said that she earns a good income by selling cow and buffalo ghee. He recalled that he used to raise up to 10 buffaloes and used to make up to one quintal of ghee from them every year and sell it in the markets of Nepalgunj, Bardiya and Kailali. He said, “Now I have raised one buffalo. My children have gone out for employment. It is better to eat milk and curd at home. The custom of making ghee has disappeared.”
Decreasing attraction towards animal husbandry
Most of the households here used to raise more than four cows and buffaloes, but now many have stopped raising them. The custom of raising buffaloes in the rural municipality is now disappearing. The practice of raising cattle and buffaloes is decreasing due to the lack of grazing areas, the decreasing attraction towards animal husbandry, and most of the youth of the village going abroad for other professions and jobs.
Parse Sahakari of Narharinath Rural Municipality-5, Rupsa said, “Nowadays, people have started looking for other sources of income. They look for their livelihood from that.” He said that due to the lack of grass to feed the buffaloes and the lack of grazing areas as the forests are being destroyed day by day, and the youth have gone abroad for employment, only one or two cattle and buffaloes are now being raised.
The profession of raising cattle and buffaloes is also disappearing due to commercial and marketing problems due to the migration of the new generation of youth abroad and other professions. Keshe Bohara of Narharinath Rural Municipality-7, Malkot, says, ‘Even when livestock are infected with various diseases, farmers do not get services. Farmers are also in trouble due to the lack of animal insurance.’ He says that many people sell their cattle and buffaloes because the profession of animal husbandry is very painful.
Giving shepherd allowance to farmers started
To attract farmers to animal husbandry, the rural municipality has started giving shepherd allowance. In the fiscal year 2080/81, the rural municipality provided shepherd allowance to farmers through the ‘Vice-Chairman Program with Farmers’. Kamal Bahadur Shah, the vice-chairman of the rural municipality, informed that the rural municipality is providing shepherd allowance to farmers to increase the livestock farming business. Farmers receive 1,000 per month under the shepherd allowance program. According to him, in order to encourage farmers to engage in livestock farming, allowances were distributed to farmers who raised 1 million cows and buffaloes in the fiscal year 2080/81 as shepherd allowance.
The municipality has also set criteria for shepherd allowance. The rural municipality has stated that 139 farmers who met the criteria have been distributed incentive allowances. Vice-chairman Shah said, “We have given priority to the program to respect the word shepherd and attract the youth and unemployed to the agricultural profession. In the village, shepherds are considered inferior to shepherds. This program will honor the word shepherd.’
Milk collection center to be established
The rural municipality is going to establish a milk collection center to make it easier for farmers to sell the milk they produce. Vice President Shah informed that the rural municipality is going to establish a milk collection center to export the milk produced in the rural municipality. “We have set a goal to collect milk and export it to other markets in the district and to Jumla and Surkhet,” he said. “For this, we are establishing a milk collection center in the village.” Vice President Shah said that an agreement has been reached with Hima Rural Municipality of Jumla for the sale of milk in the first phase.
The rural municipality has stated that there is a problem in properly selling the dairy products produced here despite the lack of a milk collection center in Narharinath Rural Municipality. Vice President Shah said that the rural municipality aims to encourage the establishment of milk and dairy product production industries in partnership with the private and cooperative sectors for milk processing and marketing.
Pocket area declared to increase buffalo farming
Narharinath rural municipality has declared a buffalo pocket area to increase cow and buffalo farming. Rupsa village of rural municipality-4 and 5 is going to be made a buffalo pocket area. Narharinath rural municipality is considered a place with great potential for animal husbandry in the district. Rupsa village of ward no. 4 and 5 has been declared a buffalo pocket area to make the animal husbandry business more quality and production-oriented, informed the rural municipality vice president Shah. “We have set a goal to provide skill-based training on animal husbandry to increase the income of livestock farmers in rural areas,” he said.
He said that farmers will be encouraged by managing local breeds of male animals to preserve the indigenous animal breed. In addition, the municipality has stated that artificial insemination by bringing semen from advanced breeds of male animals has been given priority.
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