Shortage of animal feed made headlines during the lockdowns. But farmers may not have to go through the same bitter experience at least in Bumthang now. They have a cattle feed mill. Hopes are high among the members of a dairy cooperative in Tamzhing village in Bumthang after the livestock sector constructed a cattle feed mill for them. The facility was handed over to the cooperative recently.
The plant in Thangbi village in Chhoekhor Gewog can produce 32 metric tonnes of animal feed in a day. That is about three truckloads. About eight ingredients such as maize, soybean, mustard oil cake, salt and molasses among others are required to produce the feed. The National Research and Development Centre for Animal Nutrition (NRDCAN) installed the machinery.
“During the first lockdown, Bumthang and some other districts ran out of animal feed. During a time like this, local feed mills such as this in Bumthang can come to the rescue of farmers,” said Jambay Gyeltshen, the Program Director with NRDCAN, Bumthang.
The plant will encourage the domestic production of maize and soybean. The cooperative also has plans to buy mustard oil cake from neighbouring villages. Nine members of the cooperative have been trained to operate the equipment.
“Right now we mostly depend on Karma Feed that’s produced in Phuentshogling. Now, people can drive to the new mill and buy their feed which will save time and money,” said Tshewang Dorji, a farmer from Chhoekhor Gewog.
Another farmer Ugyen Dema said “To start production, we need some budget to procure the ingredients. The cooperative has some amount but that won’t be enough. We will discuss how to go about with the budget and operation of the mill. I am hopeful that we won’t have to lease it out.”
The Indian government funded the establishment of the facility worth Nu 4.4 M. Besides the cooperative, it is also expected to benefit the farmers of the entire district. With this, the country now has six animal feed production mills.
Kipchu, Bumthang
Edited by Tandin Phuntsho
