By Thakur Prasad Acharya, Myagdi, Nov. 17: Nara Bahadur Thapa Magar of Hulake, Beni Municipality-1, flew to Iraq with an aim to earn a good income. But, his dream were dashed as he did not get good employment nor was his earning as expected. Then he made a plan to return home and raise goats.

After returning to Nepal, Thapa Magar started a business of rearing Boer goats. There are 40 goats including mother goats and kids in his farm.

The farm was started off four years back and an investment of 25-30 lakhs has been made for it up until now.

There is satisfaction as well as happiness in being able run a business in one’s homeland and having family at your side, Thapa Magar shared his experience.

Thapa Magar took 4,50,000 grant from Veterinary Hospital and Animal Husbandry Expert Center last year which he invested in setting up the well-facilitated pen.

He has started treating his ill goats himself after taking the one year veterinary course.

Presently, he makes over five lakh rupees as income in a year by selling goats and plans to expand the farm in the near future.

Thapa Magar, said, “There is a lot of demand for Boer and baby goats but it has not been met yet.”

Likewise, Krishna Bahadur Malla, from Chutreni, Beni Municipality-6, has also established himself in Boer goat rearing business after returning from Iraq.

After returning to his village, he was again planning to move to Australia but he changed his mind and invested Rs. 3 million that he had managed to go to Australia in Boer goats rearing business.

Malla said that he started raising goats after thinking of farming in his own village instead of going abroad.

"I have earned a good income from goat farming and I am immensely satisfied by it," said Malla and added that there was freedom and independence while handling own business.

He brought a he Boer goat from Australia for breeding. Currently, he has 28 goats of Boer species in his farm.

He has rented land to grow grass for goats and has received 2,50,000 grants from  Veterinary Hospital and Animal Husbandry Expert Center, which he used in making a good pen.

Malla has been further encouraged by the support received from government agencies.

Similarly, Malla said that he plans to increase the number of goats by increasing the capacity of the shed in the future.

While staying in Korea, another youth, Bhavindra Paija from Beni Municipality-10, Patlekhet, made a plan to rear Boer goats.

“I spent 10 years working in Korea but I did not want to stay under anyone’s order any longer and was seeking freedom so I planned to get involved in Boer goat production," he said.

Paija started a farm three years back with Rs. 3 million investment.

There are 65 goats including the mother and baby goats, and he makes an income of a million rupees a year.

Omkar Puri of Beni Mucipality-9, Kaulegaida, also has the same story. He also planned to open a farm while staying abroad. Now, he has 3,000 hens and cocks in a poultry farm which was started off three years back with an investment of some 6 million rupees.

He said that most of the eggs produced in his poultry are sold from the village and the rest from Galeshwor and Beni.

He said that he earned Rs 10 to 15 lakh annually from the sale of eggs.

Similarly, Ekendra Thapa of Beni Municipality-1, has been earning a good income from commercial pig farming. He makes more than five lakh from the farm every year.

Thapa, who started his business by registering his first agricultural farm two years ago, now has local black pigs and wild pigs as well as piglets.

Thapa Magar, said, “When I was in Qatar, I had planned to raise pigs and made all the plans about the construction and investment while on board."

Subash Regmi, a veterinary technician at the Veterinary Hospital and Veterinary Service Center, said that the animal husbandry started by the youths who returned to the village after struggling abroad has set an example in the society.

The agricultural business started by young men who came back from abroad has become an archetypal in the animal rearing circle.

Subsequently, by learning from these young people, other young people have also started husbandry, he added.