Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], October 8 : Uttarakhand Animal Husbandry Minister Saurabh Bahuguna on Thursday said the state government’s partnership with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has provided livestock, fisheries and poultry farmers in remote and border areas with a ready market, with farmers doing business worth around Rs 17.5 crore with the force over the last two years.
Speaking about the MoU between the Animal Husbandry Department and ITBP, Bahuguna said the initiative was started two years ago following the Chief Minister’s vision of providing support to people living in remote, difficult-to-reach and border areas.
“The Chief Minister had an idea that people in our remote, hard-to-reach areas and border regions should get some relief. Whether they’re cattle rearers, fishermen, or poultry farmers, they needed to get some kind of support. That’s why we tied up with ITBP two years ago. Uttarakhand was the first government in the whole country to start this initiative by partnering with ITBP, and we’ve directly benefited the farmers,” he said.
Bahuguna said ITBP personnel, along with officials from the Animal Husbandry and Fisheries departments, visited villages and procured supplies directly from farmers, eliminating middlemen and commission agents. Payments were transferred directly to farmers’ bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer.
“The ITBP would go from village to village with our doctors, our fisheries officers, and our animal husbandry officers. They handled the procurement right there. Within two days, there were no middlemen and no commission agents, and the ITBP transferred the money directly to our farmers’ accounts through DBT,” he said.
He said the initiative had benefited livestock, fisheries and poultry farmers by providing them with a ready market. The procurement also includes horticulture produce, fruits, vegetables, milk and paneer from the Aanchal region.
“First of all, our livestock, fisheries, and poultry farmers all got access to a ready market. We’re getting horticulture produce, fruits from our horticulture department, vegetables, and milk and paneer from the Aanchal region. So, our consumers have found a ready market,” Bahuguna said.
He said farmers had done around Rs 17.5 crore worth of business with ITBP over the past two years, while the quality and production of their products had also improved.
“Over the last two years, farmers have done about 17.5 crore rupees in business with our ITPPs. Our quality has improved and our production has gone up. The dairy and fisheries farmers have also gained confidence that if they’re doing something with government subsidies, a market is readily available for them,” he said.
Bahuguna said the state has now expanded the same model with the Army and the SSB. He added that the government has requested ITBP stations in Pithoragarh, Chamoli and Uttarkashi to include neighbouring districts in their procurement process.
“We’ve now expanded this same model with the Army and the Services Selection Board (SSB). We’ve requested the three main border districts with ITBP stations: Pithoragarh, Chamoli, and Uttarkashi to include neighboring districts in their procurement,” he said.
He said including neighbouring districts such as Rudraprayag, Tehri, Almora, Champawat and Bageshwar would help more local livestock farmers benefit from the procurement process.
Bahuguna also cited the example of farmers in Uttarkashi who earlier sold their livestock and fish products to Himachal Pradesh and often faced delays in receiving payments.
“There was a time in Uttarkashi district when our livestock and fish farmers used to sell their goods to Himachal. They would wait six to eight months for their payments, and sometimes they wouldn’t get paid at all. They were struggling. But by partnering with the ITBP, they are now getting a good rate, a ready market, and the money hits their accounts within two days,” he said.
He said the initiative was helping improve farmers’ livelihoods, making them self-reliant and supporting the Prime Minister’s vision of preventing migration from the state.
“This is boosting their livelihoods, making them self-reliant, and supporting the Honorable Prime Minister’s vision to stop migration,” Bahuguna said.
He added that work was also being carried out to fulfil the Prime Minister’s vision of doubling the income of farmers and livestock farmers.
“The Prime Minister’s vision is to double the income of our livestock farmers and farmers, and work is continuously being done on that,” he said.