SHILLONG, Sep 4: With Meghalaya faced with an acute problem of unemployment for quite some time, the state government has once again made a clarion call for self-reliance — this time with special emphasis on livestock farming — and has assured its support to the interested youths looking for self-employment opportunities.
Elucidating on the matter, Principal Secretary of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary department, GHP Raju, said that the department, after taking cognisance of the dearth of employment opportunities in state, has decided to enrol youths who want to pursue livestock entrepreneurship and management to sustain their livelihood.
Making a reference to National Livestock Mission, he said that the Centre, under the programme, will subsidise anything between 25 lakh to 50 lakh for the construction of shed, and for livestock and feed, the youths will have invest their own money.
According to the Principal Secretary, this brings a huge opportunity for the youths of Meghalaya who want to be self-reliant since both goats and sheep have tremendous market value, especially in the neighbouring Bangladesh.
“It is a huge gold mine if youths take up goat farming as business model. They can earn up to Rs 20,000 per goat,” Raju said, assuring that the Meghalaya Government will even facilitate the export of goats to Bangladesh.
Asserting that the programme will transform the rural economy of the state, he informed that youths can also avail interest-free loan from the state government for livestock since the Centre has rendered a support of Rs 450 crore to Meghalaya for milk and piggery mission.
He also informed that the government will next week issue the expression of interest for interested youths following which they can enrol themselves.
He added that the government will not only rope in local farmers as trainers but will also organise awareness programmes on the idea in colleges.
Raju argued that Meghalaya has huge potential in terms of livestock as the state consumes around 90,000 metric tonnes of meat every year, which include around 28,000 metric tonnes of beef, 33,000 metric tonnes of fish, 18,000 metric tonnes of pork and 10,000 metric tonnes of poultry.
