Telangana to buy 8 mn sheep to boost incomes of traditional communities

Govt to spend Rs 5,000 crore on the programme, which would be implemented in two years

In order to improve the  incomes of the people dependent on traditional rural occupations, the Telangana government has chalked out a programme of procuring massive 8 million sheep for distribution among Yadav and Kuruma communities in the state.

The state will spend as much as Rs 5,000 crore on the programme, which would be implemented in two years, with the first-phase rollout in June 2017. Under the programme, the government would distribute 400,000 units, each consisting of 20 sheep and one ram (an uncastrated male sheep) to individuals aged 18 years and above, for rearing to earn by multiplying their number.

The government will give 75 per cent subsidy on each unit costing Rs 1.25 lakh, while the beneficiary has to contribute Rs 31,250. Unlike past schemes, this programme is being implemented without any bank linkage. This means the government along with the beneficiary will have to make their contributions upfront to purchase animals.

"We have identified the sheep markets in neighbouring states like Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh as we will be procuring the entire 8-plus million sheep from outside the state so that they will become net addition to the existing 12 million sheep population in Telangana," Suresh Chanda, special chief secretary, who is heading the state Animal Husbandry Department, told Business Standard on Tuesday.

While announcing the final contours and the economic objective of the programme at the district collectors' conference on Monday, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao — popularly known as KCR — said the three million-odd families hailing from Yadav and Kuruma communities would be handling Rs 20,000-crore trade involving sheep production in the next couple of years. "With this programme, the state would also become a sheep meat export hub from being a net importer," Rao declared.

The government will distribute 200,000 units after the onset of Monsoon starting June this year and the remaining 200,000 units in the next year. The detailed guidelines of the programme, including sheep procurement, distribution and identification of beneficiaries, would be issued on Tuesday, according to Suresh Chanda.

Telangana has a predominantly non-vegetarian population that is partial to sheep meat and chicken. While the state is self-sufficient in poultry, it partly depends on the neighbouring states for sheep meat, a gap that the government now wants to plug, even as it strives to raise the incomes of people engaged in livestock development. "The government would create necessary market infrastructure for sheep trade. While much of the sheep meat would be consumed locally in places like Hyderabad, the impetus being given to sheep rearing activity in the state would provide opportunities for private enterprises looking to establish modern meat export businesses going forward," an official said.

Since the past couple of years, the KCR government has been working on similar programmes targeting the rural communities involved in traditional occupations.

For instance, it has linked the flagship 'Mission Kakatiya' programme, which seeks to rejuvenate more than 40,000 small lakes and minor irrigation sources across the state, with inland fisheries development programme — by giving the rights on the fish to societies formed with members from local fishermen communities.