The TS Government’s flagship sheep distribution program has compiled dozens of success stories and enabled many in the Golla and Kuruma communities to become self-reliant.
UPDATE – 12:49 AM, SUN-JAN-08-23
The Telangana government has launched a sheep distribution scheme aimed at strengthening rural economies and ensuring sustainable livelihoods for shepherds.
Hyderabad: Five years ago, Kalkoda Chandrappa and Amruthamma, a farming couple from Bantwaram, Vikarabad district, could barely provide two meals for their three children. The money they make from an acre of cotton and corn crops is barely enough to pay for their children’s education.
But today, Chandrappa’s story is different. His eldest daughter is an agricultural extension officer, while his younger daughter studies engineering. The couple’s only son is studying at polytechnic. Ask Chandrappa, who thanked Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for his flagship sheep distribution scheme, which he said helped his family earn about Rs 9.6 lakh a year. He also owns more than 80 sheep.
Chadrappa, from the Kuruma community, is one of thousands of beneficiaries of the state government’s sheep distribution programme. In February 2018, he was approved for a unit of 20 sheep and a ram at a cost of Rs 1.25 lakh per unit. Besides the sheep, the government delivered 206 kg of feed and medicines worth Rs 400 to his doorstep.
Under the guidance of local veterinary department officials, Chandrappa and Amruthamma ensured 100 percent survival of their sheep and soon the ewe gave birth to 44 lambs, 24 ewes and 20 rams. After selling 36 lambs, the family earned over Rs 2.1 lakh in the first year. Chandrappa then purchased two more rams for breeding sheep and now has more than 80 sheep in the flock. His annual income has almost doubled to around Rs 9.6 lakh.
Chandrappa and Amruthamma managed to provide quality education to all three children without loans. “Thanks to this scheme, we have been able to ensure that all three children receive quality education without the need for loans. We are grateful to the state government,” Amruthamma said.
By the way, this success story is not isolated as many families from the Golla and Kuruma communities such as B Bhulaxmi from Mudimanikyam Village, Nalgonda District and M Srinivas Yadav from Seetharampalle, Mancherial District have benefited from the sheep distribution program .
The Telangana government has launched a sheep distribution scheme aimed at strengthening rural economies and ensuring sustainable livelihoods for shepherds. In the first phase, each family gets 20 sheep at a unit cost of Rs 1.25 lakh and a subsidy of 75%. The total expenditure for implementing the scheme is Rs 4,980.31 crore. Approximately 8.274 million sheep were procured from other states and distributed to the 392,000 members of the Primary Sheep Breeders Cooperative (PSBCS).
Thanks to the state government’s efforts, the number of PSBCS has increased from 392,000 to 8,109 with about 761,000 members. According to the 20th livestock census conducted by the central government in 2019, the number of sheep in the state also increased significantly from 1.28 million to 1.91 million. To date, 1.3 lakh lambs have been born and an income worth Rs 6,500 crore has been accumulated from these lambs.
Furthermore, the state government’s flagship initiative has resulted in a substantial increase in meat production – from 505,000 tonnes in 2014-15 to 975,000 tonnes in 2021-22, making Telangana the fifth largest meat producer in the country. The state is also the third largest wool producer after Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir. In 2019-20, Telangana produced 3.96 lakh kilos of wool.
Doodimetla Balaraju Yadav, president of Telangana State Sheep and Goat Development Cooperation Federation, told Telangana today that the numerous success stories of shepherds in the state have served as an apt lesson for opposition parties who have been making baseless allegations about the implementation of the scheme. He said the scheme, the brainchild of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, has become a tool for socio-economic empowerment of the Yadava community.
“We have successfully implemented the sheep distribution scheme and the results are evident. The second phase of the scheme was launched with a disbursement of Rs 6,000 crore and sheep units will be given to all eligible people under the scheme,” he said.
Following the success of the first phase of the scheme, the state government launched a second phase of allocations, benefitting approximately 350,000 eligible applicants. The unit cost of sheep has also increased from Rs 1.25 lakh to Rs 1.75 lakh taking into account the price increase. The total financial outlay for the second phase is Rs 61.25 billion.
The government has also launched a pilot project that aims to transfer 75 percent of the subsidy amount directly into beneficiaries’ bank accounts, enabling them to buy sheep themselves. As a result, about Rs 1.58 lakh each will be deposited into the bank accounts of 4,699 beneficiaries in Nalgonda and Yadadri Bhongir districts within the next 15 days. If successfully implemented, the same will be rolled out to other parts of the state.
