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Kailali dairymen bask in comfort of milking honey of money
KAILALI, SEP 05 -
Farmers in Kailali district have showed strong determination and their hard work has paid off in the long run.
Many of them have earned millions of rupees selling milk. Sher Bahadur Bhatt of Dhagadhi-6 is among those farmers who reached new heights of success through dairy farming. Bhatt, a source of inspiration for many farmers, is into the dairy business since three decades.
An illiterate Bhatt had to see many ups and downs in his life before wearing a millionaire’s cap. His meagre earnings forced him to leave for India in search of green pastures.
As he expected, fortune smiled on him: Bhatt earned Rs. 60,000 within two years and returned home with some new idea in mind. He purchased two bigahs of land and three milking buffalos and started dairy farming.
Not only did he see a return on the investment within a short time, he also raked in a lot of money. “Only then I realised there is no necessity to go abroad for money,” says Bhatt.
Bolstered by his high morale, Bhatt bought 25 more buffaloes. The decision proved to be a boon as it brought more prosperity to his home. One after another, Bhatt bought housing estates, paddy fields and tractors. His success stories started doing the rounds, prompting cooperative institutions to run behind him.
“They (cooperatives) bring farmers on a tour at my place. The only message I tell them is ‘do your best, forget the rest’,” Bhatt says. His monthly income after all expenditures crosses Rs 25,000 at present. He has won many national and international awards and wants to keep more buffalos and cows of improved breeds.
Besides Bhatt, there are hundreds of people taking up dairy farming as their main source of livelihood. Most of the farmers are in their heyday. The district used to depend on Indian markets for dairy products. But gone are those days as Kailali is producing milk far more than the local demand and is exporting to even far-off places, including India.
Those working as middlemen are also striking it rich. Puspa Raj Panta of Geta VDC-4, who collects milk from farmers and sells in the markets, has bought property worth Rs 10 million with the income from dairy profession.
The life of Lokesh Bista of Bichawa-5 has also seen a radical change. He earns Rs 18,000 monthly selling 70 litres of milk daily. “Within only two years, I paid back the loan that I took from a landlord to build a house,” he says.
In some places, there is no need to take milk to markets. Nepali and Indian dairy businessmen come to villages to collect milk, says another milk collector Padam Singh.
On the other hand, dairy factories are also making handsome money. “I am more than satisfied,” says Pritam Kumar Singh, the owner of Ama Dairy.
“I started many businesses, but failed everywhere and my property also shrunk. At the end, I started dairy business and money started coming,” he says.
Same is the story of another dairy owner Laxmi Raj Bhatta. He is earning good money selling 500 litres of milk daily and employing 20 people. The increasing milk production and flourishing market is not the result of lone effort of farmers. The District Livestock Office, Kailali, is also doing the needful.
Posted on: 2010-09-06 07:43
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