Uttarakhand Farmers Earn Rs 17.5 Crore Selling Livestock, Fish and Poultry to ITBP
Animal Husbandry Minister Saurabh Bahuguna says a two-year-old tie-up with the ITBP has let border-area farmers sell directly to the force, bypassing middlemen.
Current Summary
Uttarakhand Animal Husbandry Minister Saurabh Bahuguna said on Thursday that the state's partnership with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police has given livestock, fisheries and poultry farmers in remote and border areas a ready market, with farmers doing business worth around Rs 17.5 crore with the force over the last two years. The initiative, begun two years ago under an MoU between the Animal Husbandry Department and ITBP, sends ITBP personnel along with departmental officials from village to village to procure supplies directly from farmers, eliminating middlemen and commission agents, with payments made via Direct Benefit Transfer to farmers' bank accounts. Bahuguna said Uttarakhand was the first state government in the country to start such a partnership with the ITBP.
What We Know
- Farmers have done about Rs 17.5 crore in business with the ITBP over the last two years.
- The procurement MoU between the Animal Husbandry Department and ITBP began two years ago.
- ITBP personnel and departmental officials visit villages directly to procure livestock, fish and poultry supplies.
- Payments are made directly to farmers' bank accounts via Direct Benefit Transfer, cutting out middlemen and commission agents.
- Officials describe Uttarakhand as the first state in the country to start this kind of partnership with the ITBP.
What Is Still Unclear
- The exact number of farmers who have benefited from the scheme.
- Year-by-year breakdown of the Rs 17.5 crore figure.
- Plans, if any, to expand the model to additional border districts.
What Changed
- 8 Oct, 02:31 pmSignal detected: Uttarakhand Farmers Earn Rs 17.5 Crore Selling Livestock, Fish and Poultry to ITBP
Background
The scheme was framed as part of the Chief Minister's push to support livelihoods in remote, hard-to-reach and border regions of Uttarakhand.