Farmers fret as the demand for goats stagnates

By Diwakar Pokhrel,Deukhuri, Oct. 7: Top Bahadur Rawat of Lamahi Municipality-8, Nimukhutti of Dang is looking for a trader as there is no good sale of goats.

Rawat, who is commercially engaged in goat rearing, said seven goats are yet to be sold out of 16 that were on sale during the Dashain festival.

The goats that were sold also had to be given to local traders. 

Farmers who have been rearing goats complained that despite efforts from all sectors to increase production, they suffer for the sale of cattle timely. 

Rawat said, "We are working very hard to increase the production, but there is a situation where we have to offer a low price to the local businessmen during the time of sale. Even this year, we have not been able to sell the entire goats so far.”

There is are same grievances of Nirmala Gharti of Lamahi Municiplaity-7.

Gharti said, "Even when Dashain is at the doorstep, the goats which are ready for sale are still in the shed. Due to lack of sale of goats even in the Dashain festival, farmers are worried.”

She said that she has requested the local businessmen to sell her goats before the festival.

Farmers are facing difficulty to sell their goats this year as the Food Management and Trading Company purchased lower number of goats this year citing that it has fixed few quotas of goats to be sold from here.

The FMTC had purchased large number of goats from here last year for the supply to Kathmandu Valley.

Although the farmers are sure that they will get money while selling goats to the FMTC, they have to sell on credit to local traders. 

Farmers are forced to sell live goats at a price that is Rs. 40 lower per kg when selling it in the local market compared to the price purchased by FMTC.

In Lamahi Municipality of Dang, women entrepreneurs have been raising goats by forming a cooperative group. 

In the Satbaria area of Lamahi Municipality, women members of cooperatives, including Dipan Women Entrepreneurs Cooperative Society, Karmath Women Entrepreneurs Women Cooperative Society, Nilkamal Cooperative Society in Sonapur area are rearing goats commercially. 

Hari Narayan Chaudhary, manager of Dipan Women Entrepreneur Cooperative, said that only 150 goats were sold out of the 300 kept by the members of his cooperative. 

He said, "We have also been requesting goat traders, but the sales are decreasing compared to the production."

Meanwhile, 100 goats have been sold from Gadhwa Rural Municipality of Dang. 

Tilak Sunar, Chief of FMTC, Dang, said that the company had purchased goats targeting Dashain. 

Although the farmers have increased their production, FMTC has reduced the quota for purchasing goats from Dang this year as compared to last year, he said, adding that it has become difficult to purchase additional number of goats exceeding the fixed quota. 

Sunar said, "As the business of goats has decreased in Kathmandu, it has affected the purchase of FMTC. As per the determined quota, we are purchasing and sending them on that basis."

The FMTC fixed a quota of 400 goats for Dang this year. Last year, the FMTC had purchased around 700 goats from Dang and supplied them to Kathmandu.