Scheme for empowering shepherds, livestock promotion announced

Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar today said that ‘PEHEL’, a new scheme for empowering shepherds and promoting livestock, would be started shortly.

A budget of Rs 294.36 crore had been allocated for the scheme, which was expected to benefit 40,000 families. The scheme would provide digital registration, veterinary healthcare, promotion of foreign breeds and subsidies and insurance to shepherds and encouraging new startups in wool, milk and meat production.

The minister also announced the launch of a milk incentive scheme on October 4 for farmers supplying milk to eligible non-government dairy cooperative societies. A subsidy of Rs 3 per litre would provide under the scheme to dairy farmers to empower them and increase milk production. He said that the department had set up 331 dairy cooperative societies in the first phase and more societies would be formed in the second phase.

The minister said that these societies should be established in areas where milk production was high and the registration process should be completed by October 15. He added that the department was promoting poultry farming in the state and a 52 per cent increase in broiler chicken production had been recorded. The aim of the department was to develop poultry farming as a business model and provide employment opportunities to the rural youth.