Commercial goat farming flourishes Myagdi village

Entire households in Khanigaun village from Mangala Rural Municipality in Myagdi district have opted for commercial goat farming, making it a profitable business lately.

Yam Bahadur Budhathoki, a returnee migrant worker, has been doing goat farming for five years starting with 21 goats. He has reared as high as 120 goats now including local and hybrid ones. Buthathoki said that he made Rs 1 million in profit in a year for the past three consecutive years from goat farming.

Besides Budhathoki, all 25 other households in the village are engaged with this profession. Each household has a well-managed barn for goats.

Budhathoki, 48, said that he started doing agriculture by utilizing his skills learned abroad—a homegrown idea for sustainable reintegration of returnee migrants back in their society.

Identity of the entire village has now changed as others too have followed his suit by doing goat farming and vegetable farming.

There have been impressive changes in the village after the skills transfer to the society, Budhathoki said.

A total of 34 farmers have formed Gupteshwor Farmers Group for goat farming. The farmers have reared more than 600 goats in the village.

"We have no problem grazing land for goat farming. With the initiatives of returnee migrants, grants have been provided and skill transfers have been ensured to the farmers for goat farming, vegetable farming and beekeeping in Khanigaun," goat farmer Rajan Ramjali said.

Ramjali hoped that the villagers would earn millions in the coming five years from goat farming, orange farming and other agricultural businesses.

The rural municipality has also provided some grant assistance to the goat farmers from the Goat Farming Pocket Programme. So far, the rural municipality has doled out almost Rs 2.2 million in grants to encourage the goat farmers, Spokesperson of Mangala Rural Municipality Yekjit Roka said.

Chairman of rural municipality Sat Prasad Roka said that different activities are being implemented targeting the farmers to develop the rural municipality as a model local level on agriculture and animal husbandry.