A parallel economic activity has picked up in villages of Telangana following the execution of a programme by the State government to supply 21 sheep to every individual sheep rearer almost at a throwaway price.
The arrival of thousands of sheep in villages everyday for the past few months has become an opportunity for farmers who have left their fields fallow for some or the other reason.
They have allowed the sheep graze in the fallow lands for a charge.
Take the case of Motkur village in Nalgonda where the entire Golla Kurma community of 170 members who traditionally depended upon sheep rearing was given the animals but they were left to fend for themselves for feed. So, the farmers stepped in and allowed the sheep to graze on their lands at ₹3,000 an acre for one year.
Motkur model
Principal Secretary of Animal Husbandry Suresh Chanda welcomed the initiative in Motkur and said the government was working out a strategy in coordination with the Agriculture Department to convince other farmers to lease out to sheep rearers their fallow land.
He said either the farmers or sheep rearers could be encouraged to avail 50 % subsidy provided by the government in a different scheme for supply of seed for fodder. The farmers and sheep rearers could tie up on leasing of lands and either of them could raise fodder availing the subsidy.
Two-way benefit
The farmers could benefit in two ways if the fodder was developed in orchards because the droppings of sheep will be manure and they could also enjoy the subsidy. There was no danger of damage to trees because the sheep, unlike goats, does not eat leaves over the head.
Fodder shortage
Though availability of fodder was not an issue in these days of monsoon due to plenty of vegetation all around, officials did not rule out shortage when summer set in. But, they pointed out the daily routine of shepherds to take the sheep several kilometres away into forest for grazing. The problem could be higher if the present rate of procurement of sheep at 1,000 per day for supply to rearers continued. They were brought from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
The government has till date supplied 15.40 lakh sheep to 73,380 members out of the targeted 3.62 lakh members of sheep rearers cooperative societies, spending ₹659.83 crore.
A loan of ₹4,000 crore from National Cooperative Development Corporation was availed for the purpose.
The government has fixed a cost of ₹1.25 lakh per unit of sheep, including 20 female and one male animals, of which the subsidy component was ₹93,750.
The objective of the government was to multiply the holding of rearers during the reproductive stage of sheep for four years and let them shift the ageing animals to slaughter houses.