|
Organisation
|
Himmotthan,
Dehradun |
|
Project
name
|
Integrated fodder livestock development
project |
|
Grant
operationalised
|
April
2008 |
|
Duration
|
3
years |
|
Grant
amount sanctioned
|
Rs29.23
million |
Activities within the grant:
Fodder shortage is one of the main issues
affecting the development of rural areas in
Uttarakhand. It leads to both poor quality
milch animals, and the degradation of forests.
Given the reality of fodder scarcity in
Uttarakhand, Himmotthan had initiated a
Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) on the ‘development
of fodder resources’ in the state in
2007, in collaboration with the state government,
through the National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme (NREGS), and leading Non-Profit Organisations
(NPO) of Uttarakhand.
In 28 villages, spread over seven districts,
a total of 133 hectares of land was taken
up for fodder promotion. Over 6,300 people
participated in the project. 748 tonnes
of fodder was produced from community-managed
plots. Grass production in planted plots
increased from 1.2 tonnes to 6.9 tonnes
per hectare.
This increased fodder availability on an
average, by 0.25 tonne per family. Overall,
an additional income of Rs2,500 was generated
from fodder grasses.
Based on the feedback received from different
stakeholders, this ongoing project aims
to promote rural livelihood, and enhance
incomes through an environmentally sustainable,
integrated livestock management programme.
Called the ‘Integrated Fodder-Livestock
Development Project’ (IFLDP), the scheme
covers over 80 villages in 15 project areas,
spread over seven hill districts of Uttarakhand.
Over 8,000 households, covering a population
of about 44,000 mostly marginalised people,
are directly or indirectly involved with
the project. The programme necessarily entails
close association with rural communities,
Community Based Organisations (CBO) such
as Livestock Producer Groups (LPG), Van
Panchayats (VP) and Gram Panchayats (GP).
Key components within the project include:
|
|
Promotion of fodder resources
|
|
|
Formation of, and strengthening CBOs
|
|
|
Capacity building activities
|
|
|
Fodder preservation and
better feeding practices |
|
|
Animal health and breed
improvement |
|
|
Livestock based micro-enterprises
|
|
|
Extension support to grass-root
organisations |
|
|
Action research |
The IFLDP will create direct employment
benefits and increased fodder availability
from fodder cultivation on common land to
over 3,000 households over a three-year
period. This will also give increased fodder
access to an additional 5,000 families.
This implies an increased production of
at least 55,000 tonnes of grasses, which
will greatly diminish shortages in the project
areas. 18 para-vets will be trained from
project villages to look after the primary
health care of livestock and breed improvement.
With the increased availability of nutritious
fodder, the adoption of better preservation
and feeding practices, and breed improvement,
the average milk yield of cattle is expected
to increase from 2.4 litres per animal per
day to 4 litres per animal per day. The
number of families engaged in milk sales
is expected to increase from 16 per cent
to 30 per cent by the end of the project.
Eventually, in three years time, increased
fodder availability, livestock production,
and access to better marketing facilities,
are expected to enhance family incomes from
Rs20,000 per year to Rs46,500 per year through
the sale of fodder grasses, improved livestock
and their products.
|
