The board - the regulatory body of dairy sector -- recently forwarded the proposal through the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives (MoAC) to the National Planning Commission (NPC) -- the apex policy making body of the government.[break]
“We have formulated the action plan by incorporating the suggestions of different stakeholders, including farmers in key dairy producing districts. The plan will get final shape after the national gathering of stakeholders which will be held in the capital in the near future,” DN Pathak, executive director of the board, told Republica on Monday.
The gatherings of stakeholders have already been held in Kavre, Chitwan, Kohalpur and Sunsari districts.
Pathak said the NPC officials were positive toward the implementation of the action plan.
As per the proposed plan, the government will encourage more farmers toward dairy farming by providing different incentives like free distribution of semen of improved varieties of cows to boost milk production at lower cost.
According to dairy companies, more than 300,000 farmers across the country supply around 500,000 liters of milk every day. The daily demand for milk hovers around 800,000 liters a day.
To boost milk production, Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) - the state owned dairy producer -- and big private sector dairies have already been providing different incentives to farmers.
Pathak said the action plan envisages importing a total of 13,000 cows of improved breed in the three-year period. The government plans to import 8,000 cows in the first year and 2,000 and 3,000 cows in the second and third year respectively.
“The improved breeds of cows will be distributed through four resource centers -- two centers each in Tarai and Hill districts -- so as to ensure easy availability of cows to the local farmers,” Pathak added.
Officials said the number of cows reared for milk production is decreasing substantially due to low interest in dairy farming owing to low return amid rising cost of production.
The action plan has also set the target of importing 15,000 heifers - unmated cows - each year over the three-year period. The government plans to distribute heifers through resources centers after getting the cows inseminated.
As a part of increasing the number of improved breeds of cows, the action plan envisages imported 60,000 vials of semen of improved breed for artificial insemination. Similarly, the plan also incorporates the provision of issuing loans to farmers by making concerned dairy companies stand as guarantor.
“The plan ensures that farmers get loan in a hassle-free way. Concerned dairies will pay 50 percent of each installment which they can deduct from the amount that they owe to the farmers,” Pathak added.
The action plan has also proposed setting up five feed industries to produce feeds by using fodder.
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