By Our Correspondent
Kavre, June 13: In a bid to attract farmers to commercial animal husbandry and increase their income level, Namobuddha Municipality has started distributing young buffaloes of exotic breeds in grants.
Amid a function organised here at Ward 10 of the municipality, Mayor TP Sharma Timalsina distributed Murrah (exotic breed) buffaloes to 55 farmers of the ward, with 80 per cent subsidy.
The municipality has allocated Rs. 2,133,000 for the programme and received the same amount from the federal government. Similarly, it has received Rs 1.25 million from the state government.
Within this financial year, the municipality has aimed to distribute exotic breeds of buffaloes to 155 farmers of the municipality, including 55 in Ward 10, 40 in Ward 9, 25 in Ward 8, 20 in Ward 11 and 15 in Ward 1, the municipality informed.
Chief of the Animal Husbandry Branch of the municipality, Chiranjivi Sharma, informed that the municipality had distributed buffaloes of Murrah breed up to one and a half years of age.
Chairman of Ward 10 Ram Krishna Adhikari also announced a prize of Rs. 10,000 to the farmer whose buffalo, from among 55 buffaloes distributed in the ward, gives birth first.
Namobuddha Municipality has also started a livestock insurance programme as a campaign from the current fiscal year.
So far, more than 400 livestock have been brought under the insurance scheme in Ward 10. The programme is being conducted at Ward 9 now, he added.
The municipality has been preparing to distribute 125 goats to the farmers of Ward 4 and 5 in the current fiscal year.
The municipality has stated that the procurement process has already started after inviting tenders.
Prior to this, the Panauti Municipality had conducted buffalo distribution campaign.