The Karnali provincial government has made arrangements to provide a lump sum of Rs 18,000 annually as 'shepherd's allowance' to farmers raising more than 50 sheep.
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Haituna Rawat of Sinja Rural Municipality-6 was very happy after receiving a lump sum of 18,000 rupees per year as 'shepherd's allowance'. Haituna, who has raised more than 100 sheep, said that the 'shepherd's allowance' has encouraged her.
Sheep raising in remote areas is a difficult task. She says that this amount has made it easier to cover the costs of treating diseases seen in sheep and going to the shepherd. Basam Rawat of Sinja-6 has 80 sheep. Basam, who said that her business was in crisis due to financial constraints, says that the 'shepherd's allowance' is now encouraging farmers.
She said, 'There used to be complaints everywhere that the government does not look after farmers, but now the shepherd's allowance has been arranged even for sheep raising. This allowance has brought great relief to poor farmers like us in remote areas.'
The Karnali Provincial Government has made arrangements to provide a lump sum of Rs 18,000 as shepherd allowance to farmers raising more than 50 sheep annually. According to the data of the Animal Hospital and Animal Services Office, Jumla, farmers in Jumla raise a minimum of 80 to more than 700 sheep.
According to the data, 88,000 sheep and 46,306 goats are raised in Jumla. Office Chief Gyanendra Singh Budhthapa informed that sheep raising is being done in all 60 wards of the eight local levels of Jumla, which has a grazing area of 69,000 hectares. He said, ‘The shepherd allowance is not only encouraging farmers. It has also addressed the problems of farmers.’ In this fiscal year, 368 farmers raising sheep have received shepherd allowance.
Farmers receive shepherd allowance based on on-site monitoring, evaluation and reports of the farmers' sheep farming business. First, the farmer's application is received,' said Chief Budhthapa, 'later, payment is made only after visiting the place where the sheep are raised and monitoring on-site.' According to him, coordination is done with the concerned ward people's representatives to confirm whether the farmers who have applied are raising sheep or not.
According to the procedure for giving shepherd allowance, only farmers raising more than 50 sheep are receiving shepherd allowance. The allowance is provided to farmers at the rate of Rs 1,500 per month.
So far, Rs 66 lakh 24 thousand has been deposited in the farmers' accounts, while Rs 11 lakh 17 thousand 460 is left. In the current fiscal year 2082/83, the provincial government had allocated Rs 77 lakh 42 thousand for shepherd allowance. Ranabahur Rawat of Sinja said that the shepherd allowance money is being used to buy the necessary materials for sheep farming.
The Veterinary Hospital and Animal Services Office is working with priority on the construction of physical infrastructure, pasture improvement programs, and even the expansion of grazing areas. This program has been implemented in the Jumla, Humla, Dolpa, Kalikot, and Mugu districts of the then Karnali Zone. This program has been implemented since the fiscal year 2078/79.
