#Kohistan livestock management project

[lovacedon]

SAGP to prepare feasibility report for Thar, Kohistan livestock management project

HYDERABAD: The World Bank funded Sindh Agriculture Growth Project (SAGP) livestock component team has begun working on a feasibility report with international experts to promote livestock management in two major arid zones in Sindh, Thar Desert and Kohistan.

A four-member team comprising Tre Cates and Byron Lee Shelton from US, Simon Tendai Gerikayi from Zimbabwe, and SAGP’s Dr Nighat Hasnain from UK visited livestock fields in Thar Desert along with officials. They held meetings with the communities to learn about traditional grazing mechanisms, and availability of water and fodder to gauge the potential for rehabilitating the grazing fields.

The SAGP also invited experts from Sindh agriculture and livestock departments, retired officials, researchers, and academia, most of whom have been engaged in reporting and assessing similar projects, late on Wednesday night to discuss the newly introduced 'holistic land and livestock management' (HLLM).  The purpose of the meeting was to discuss ways to turn the barren lands into grassland, using livestock as a tool for the better of the local communities.

Initially, these international experts shared their experiences in similar projects being implemented in arid zones in Africa, US and other parts of the world, which depend on rainfall and livestock grazing. They presented how the communities were motivated to adopt this model to store rain water, grow fodder with crops, and manage herds jointly.

They said the people are now living happily and earning incomes by adopting their suggested models. The experts also showed how the larger herds, comprising as much as 25,000 sheep moved together in grazing fields and benefitted the communities.

They suggested introducing the same model as a pilot project in Sindh. In their understanding, this project depends on the will of the communities, who may be trained for adopting this holistic approach in land and livestock management.

The major issue in arid zones was the availability of water and degraded grazing fields. The experts said the need was to design a water storing mechanism which the rain may feed. It was necessary for cultivation of fodder and crops as well as developing grazing fields, they said.

SAGP deputy director Dr Abdullah Sethar said that initially as a pilot phase, they wanted to establish a livestock hub for accommodating at least 2,000 to 5,000 animals, which would then be increased to make space for more animals.

For this, he said they needed to have at least 5,000 or 10,000 acres of land in Tharparkar and Kohistan. The sites would be used to cultivate fodder grasses, installing water facilities, and developing infrastructure for livestock. This hub should be accessible for livestock farmers to benefit them.

Dr Sethar said it was necessary to train livestock farmers at village level, so they were aware of the weather pattern changes and could adopt preventive measures to save their animals.

Prof M Ismail Kumbhar of Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam said 60 percent land in Sindh was considered an arid zone. Presently malnutrition among children was being reported with deaths in Thar.

He said that despite being dependent on livestock rearing as a livelihood, during droughts, people were forced to sell the animals to feed their kids.

He appreciated the project initiative, and said, “This model will benefit the arid zone communities and the livestock economy.” Dr Ghulam Sarwar Shaikh of JICA, Prof Ghulam Hussain Khaskheli of Sindh Development Study Centre, and others gave suggestions to make the initiative successful.

They suggested imposing an official ban on tree cutting in arid zones. Presently, the communities cut trees for livelihood, but the participants said people could be sensitised to protect these trees and in return provided with alternative means to make a living. The team members were looking optimistic, and said that pre-assessment field visits would help them explore possibilities for introducing HLLM in Sindh.

  SAGP to prepare feasibility report for Thar, Kohistan livestock management project