Way short of demand,Kashmir promotes sheep farming. The Jammu and Kashmir government is trying to promote sheep farming,with the state producing only half the meat it needs and even less milk. So far we have helped set up of 400 mini-farms across the valley by providing farmers 500 ewes each, says Nazir Gurezi,Minister of State for Sheep Husbandry. The government is helping more farmers establish farms so that the import of meat will go down. He says the deficit in production is 50 per cent for meat and 40 per cent for milk. The sheep husbandry department has been created just to meet the demands of the state as it has the highest meat consumption in India, says Dr Faizullah Chesti,who retired as a veterinarian from Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences. Even now the state government imports sheep in bulk from neighboring states. The landscape and climate of the valley make it suitable for sheep rearing but the concept of mini-farms was introduced only recently. Mubashir Dewani,a young veterinarian from North Kashmirs Bandipore town,ventured into sheep farming four years ago and is earning handsomely from his farm that has grown since. After I postgraduated in veterinary sciences I started a farm in Bandipore with just 10 to 12 ewes. Over time my farm has grown and now I have 200 ewes, he says. Dewani sees sheep rearing as a promising enterprise but stresses the right kind of focus. The government should introduce the meat breed that is more likely to grow in our environment rather than the wool breed, he says. Officials say the state,with the assistance of the central government,has made a number of schemes available for rearing sheep. I took the benefit of one of the centrally sponsored schemes,under which the government provided me the inputs, says Pervaz Ahmad,who has set up a large farm in northern Kashmirs Baramulla town. It is an easy job; even people with little know-how can easily adopt it as a career through proper management. Starting a farm does not require much funds,and the government provides subsidies to establish one. There are good schemes introduced by the state animal husbandry department,but lack of awareness about these and about proper scientific skills leave many villagers wary about establishing such farms, says Abdul Khaliq Channa,who has set up a mini-sheep farm at Rafiabad Sopore without government support. My farm was inspected by state officials. They are ready to finance an expansion. Dr Chesti,the retitred veterinarian,says steps need to be taken both at the government and at the local levels. It is important that people are motivated to take it up as a profession. Though young people have established farms,the number is still low. Minister of state Gurezi says the government has already introduced programmes for artificial insemination and cross-breeding to increase the produce. Initiatives such as cooperative societies and mini-farms have been introduced in every district.
