For years, residents of Haa have been rearing livestock for livelihood. The majority of the people there continue to practice this age-old tradition even today and they do it the traditional way. The households keep their cattle on the ground floor of their homes which is unhygienic. To change this practice, the Katsho Gewog Administration and the Gewog Livestock Extension office are helping farmers build separate sheds for livestock.
Katsho Gewog has around 400 households. About 150 of them rear livestock for a living. Many of the livestock farmers here keep their cattle in the basement.
In the villages of Wangtsa, Bali-Mombitshokhar, Kagoen-Hatam and Drading-Kajena, some people are in the process of making separate cow shed, while others have already completed it.
“Before we used to keep animals on the ground floor. Now, with support from the government, we can build separate cowsheds with better floors and roofing. This will help us maintain cleanness,” said Mindu Tshering, a farmer.
“In the past, when we kept animals on the ground floor, there wasn’t any partition between people and animals. We could see small insects. There would also be a foul smell coming from the ground floor. This practice was hazardous to our health as well as to animals,” said Dorji Penjor, another farmer.
The Gewog Administration and Livestock Extension Office provide each livestock-raising household with free CGI sheets and cement worth Nu 25,000.
“We have been supporting farmers in building cow sheds. If they build separate cow shed with modern facility, it will help them maintain good hygiene. It will also help them to improve the quality and hygiene of the milk, thereby improving the quality of dairy products. In a way, we can also stop an outbreak of any animal-related diseases. Making well-maintained cowsheds will also help them raise highbred animals,” said Sangay Wangmo, Gewog Livestock Extension Officer.
She also added that the gewog livestock extension office in Katsho has been assisting the farmers since 2016 based on their needs. The office helped 37 households in the gewog build cow sheds in the last one and a half years spending over Nu 900,000. They have plans to help more households. According to the Livestock Extension Officer, people have also become more aware of the need to build separate sheds for their livestock over the years.
Tshewang, Haa
Edited by Phub Gyem
