BAGLUNG: Liladhar Sharma of Baglung Municipality-12, who returned from employment in Malaysia ten years ago, currently operates a cow farm in his village.

Believing that one can make a handsome income by working hard within the country, the business he started has turned him into a commercial milk-producing farmer.

Sharma’s farm now has 25 mother cows alongside some small calves and buffaloes. After producing milk in the village, he has also set up a sales center in Baglung Bazaar.

Similarly, the shed of Bikash Paudel from Jaimini Municipality-1, Kushmishera, who returned after spending four years in Saudi Arabia, is filled with milch cows. Having become a commercial milk producer, Paudel and his wife are currently fully occupied with milk production and sales.

It is not just Paudel and Sharma; lately, youth who remember the hardships of foreign employment and return to their villages, as well as those who do not wish to go abroad, have started engaging in commercial agricultural production.

Farmers in Baglung have turned to commercial animal husbandry with the belief that they can earn a good income staying in the country rather than going abroad.

Farmers rearing cows and buffaloes have become further encouraged as the local, provincial, and federal governments have started providing subsidies, medical treatments, and technical support.

According to the Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Service Expert Center in the district, 23,157 metric tons of milk is produced annually in Baglung. Dr. Rishiram Sapkota, the chief of the center, stated that with the increasing number of commercial farmers, Baglung has become self-reliant in milk production.

Chief Sapkota mentioned that milk production has risen because the local government assists commercial farmers, and federal and provincial programs targeted at farmers reach them directly. The center stated that the milk produced in excess of local demand is exported to neighboring districts.

Chief Dr. Sapkota informed that statistics show milk is exported to the neighboring district of Parbat from the southern region of Baglung, and to neighboring Gulmi from the western region. Merchants who used to bring milk from Pokhara for sale until a few years ago now purchase it directly from the farmers’ homes and bring it to dairy shops.

Milk is being sold through 15 cooperatives in the district. Deepak Gautam, the Chairperson of the District Dairy Cooperative Association, stated that the farmers here produce milk by rearing cows and buffaloes individually, in groups, and through cooperatives. He noted that local production is sufficient for the market.

Center Chief Dr. Sapkota informed that 86,920 buffaloes and 21,660 cows are being reared across the district. He said that the center evaluates milk production by collecting statistics on livestock reared for both commercial and domestic purposes. According to Chief Dr. Sapkota, Murrah buffaloes, local crossbreeds, and Jersey and Holstein breeds of cows are being reared here.

Farmer Bikash Paudel stated that smooth road access to rural areas, transportation facilities, fair pricing, production-based subsidies from local levels, and the availability of grass and straw have helped farmers become commercialized in animal husbandry. According to him, the market price of milk currently stands at Rs. 70 to Rs. 90 in wholesale, and Rs. 100 to Rs. 120 in retail.