Farmers earn Rs 2.6 crore in 5 months from supplying meat, trout & chicken to ITBP
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The battalions of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) used to rely on suppliers in big cities for mutton, chicken and fish till October 2024. However, with the Animal Husbandry department having signed an agreement with the ITBP, the meat, fish and poultry is being supplied by locals.
According to officials, 253 farmers of four border districts have earned a total of Rs 2.6 crore from supplying to the ITBP during the first five months after the agreement. The Animal Husbandry department had signed the formal agreement with ITBP on October 30 last year. As part of this initiative, 253 farmers connected to 10 cooperative committees and food producer organisations in Pithoragarh, Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Champawat districts are supplying live goats, chicken and fish to the ITBP battalions posted nearby. In the first five months of this initiative, the farmers have supplied 79,530 kilogrammes of live sheep and goats, 29,407 kilogrammes chicken and 7,374 kilogrammes of trout fish to the battalions, doing a total business of Rs 2.6 crore.
Animal Husbandry secretary BVRC Purushottam informed that the farmers are being paid through DBT within 24 hours of supply. The department has facilitated a revolving fund of Rs five crore for this purpose. He further said that it is expected that the farmers will do an annual business of Rs 20 crore from supplying about 800 metric tonnes of mutton, chicken and fish to ITBP which will bring about considerable change in the lives of farmers in the border regions.
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that this scheme has yielded positive results which will help raise the income of farmers and prevent migration from villages in the mountains. They will also help strengthen the defense line of the nation along with ITBP while the force will also receive fresh food products, Dhami said.
Resident of Badalu village in the Munakot block of Pithoragarh district, Narendra Prasad, who has been supplying chicken to ITBP since January said that he had started rearing poultry under a departmental scheme in 2022-23. He now supplies about 16 quintals of chicken every month, out of which three quintals are supplied to the ITBP. Prakash Kohli of Devdar village in the same block has been supplying goats to the force since January and has supplied about 11 quintals so far. He has earned a profit of Rs 50,000 so far and is now applying under the Goat Valley scheme.
