Raising farm income at government composite livestock farm in Nirjuli

[ Dr Taba Heli ]

Introduction

The composite livestock farm (CLF) under the department of animal husbandry, veterinary and dairy development in Nirjuli showcases improved farming technologies for enhancing farm production and income generation.

The CLF is a major livestock and poultry bird production centre under the administrative control of a joint director in this government department. This institute is equipped with four central livestock and poultry farms manned by the respective managers with their supporting field doctors, para-vets and attendants in each of these farms enlisted as under:

The central pig breeding farm in Karsingsa has different types of breeds, viz, Yorkshire, Landrance, Hempshire and Rani breed of pigs. The main objective is pork production and sale, and production and supply of pig-lings to the farmers.

The central poultry farm (CPF) in Nirjuli has backyard-reared kroiler breed of bird for table purpose. In addition, it has sufficient infrastructure for layer birds and hatchery unit for production of eggs and supply of day-old chicks (DOC).

The central fodder farm (CFF) in Karsingsa is the key fodder production centre, supporting the fodder requirement of the central cattle breeding farm in Nirjuli. This fodder farm cultivates different perennial as well as seasonal fodder, including locally available tree fodders to supply fodders round the year with the main mandate of enhancing the milk production and supply in the Itanagar Capital Region.

The central cattle breeding farm in Nirjuli has cross-bred cattle of Holstein Friesian, Jersey cross, and Red sindhi cross with total of 305 cattle. This farm is equipped with artificial insemination facilities with the sex sorted frozen semen. The farm produces an average of 230 litres milk daily by 60 milch cows which are sold to generate revenue for the state exchequer. The revenue return earned during last financial year (2024-25) was Rs 79,84,461.

Prime objectives of central livestock & poultry farms:

1. For producing available quality genetic merit progenies. Induction of the high quality improved livestock and poultry birds and rearing them forproducing available genetic merit quality progenies in these farms for sale to needy farmers at nominal prices.
2. To demonstrate or showcase the improved technological packages to farmers. With the idea of ‘seeing is believing’, the high genetic merit animals are reared in these farms with improved management practices (breeding, feeding, disease prevention and control) and are demonstrated in these farms for adoption at farmers’ level, thereby augmenting their livestock and poultry bird productivity.
3. To generate revenue for the state exchequer. Through improved breeding, feeding and disease control managements, the livestock and poultry bird productivity in terms of milk, meat, eggs, etc, along with quality progenies (seeds) are being enhanced, and are sold to buyers at nominal prices, and the salesproceeds so generated is deposited as farm revenue tothe state exchequer.

The central livestock & poultry farms are catering to the meat, milk, eggs and quality seeds (young stocks of farm produce livestock & poultry birds) demands of the state. The composite livestock farm (CLF) is now lambing with numerous improved farmers-centric innovative and low-cost technological packages for upcoming educated and unemployed youths and progressive farmers in the animal husbandry and poultry sector. On exposure and learning gained from these showcased improved technological packages at the composite livestock farm, inquisitive farmers can be benefitted by adopting them and practice in field condition to enhance their farm income.

The central livestock & poultry farms serve as the key centre of production in the animal husbandry sector in the state, in addition to centre of demonstration-cum-training for upcoming educated unemployed youths, progressive farmers and extension functionaries of the state. In addition to it, the central livestock & poultry farms serve as a revenue centre which earns through regular salesproceeds of meat, milk and eggs, and sale of farm-produced quality progenies at nominal price to farmers. The revenue so earned is deposited to the state exchequer as the farm revenue annually.

Improved farming technological package:

With the aim of enhancing the farmers’ income, the central cattle breeding farm is now flapping with farmer-friendly innovative and low-cost farming technological packages for showcasing them to inquisitive farmers of the state for doubling their income which are described as under:

1. Efficient and economic utility of cattle shed waists. For effective utility of the cow dung and other cattle shed waists, a number of innovative and low-cost technological packages are designed and developed in the central cattle breeding farm in Nirjuli with the idea of generating additional income/revenue returns for the state exchequer, in addition to sales proceeds of milk and young stocks.
2. Low cost vermicomposting unit for value added organic manure. For earning higher income from the raw cow dung, the central cattle breeding farm is equipped with two low-cost vermicomposting unitsmade of locally available whole bamboo walling,partitioned into four chambers. In each unit, the roofing material is made up of locally available materials (tokku patta). The bamboo walls are affixed with netlone-mesh from inner side to check the crossing over of earthworms in the chambers digesting the cow dung filled inside it.

In this structure, the floor is filled up with paddy straw layer mixed with chopped banana pseudo-stems, followed by filling up with 10-20 inches layer of cow dung, followed by introducing of 150-200 grams of earthworms in each chamber. In this way, the subsequent layering is done until it is reaches the edge of the walls of said structure. After that, it is left out for digestion period and it is covered with gunny bags for the digestion process that takes 45-60 days.

After full digestion (checked by observing the fine top layer), the covered gunny bags are removed and the organic manure is harvested by drying up in the sun, and sieving is done to segregate the earthworms and other undigested materials through fine wire mesh net. After that, the earthworms so segregated are reintroduced in fresh chambers and sun dried and sieved organic manure are packed in poly bags for sale. The low-cost vermicompost so produced is launched and marketed under brand name of CLF Gold @ Rs 40/kg presently in the central cattle breeding farm, which are in huge demand.

3. Biogas plant unit for renewal energy and organic manure. The cow dung as the renewal energy source is being demonstrated at the central cattle breeding farm for dual purpose utility, viz, methane gas production for cooking purpose and cowdung sludge for organic manure sale. A 30 cubic metre biogas plant has been established at the dairy farm under the funding and technical support from the Arunachal Energy Development Agency (APEDA). The said plant is a technological breakthrough and the first model of biogas plant has been established in the Itanagar Capital Region (ICR) for showcasing renewal of energy source from cowdung. This biogas plant is an eye opener for dairy farmers. Thus, this plant could serve as the learning centre and teach unemployed youths, progressive farmers and extension functionaries about the higher economic gains in dairy farming.

Here, fresh cow dung is collected from cattle sheds in trolleys and filled in the inlet mixing tank, wherein the cow dung is mixed by pouring tap water with the help of rooter motor and then released into a digestion tank. As such, a minimum of 20-30 kg of fresh cow dung is put into the inlet mixing tank on a daily basis and mixed to flow into a digester tank to produce methane gas (cooking gas). The methane gas so produced blows up or balloons-up the digestion chamber and stocked. As such, four households are supplied with present biogas plant. After the digestion processes, the digested cow dung becomes lighter and it floats on surface water, which gets drained into the outlet sludge tank. After the sludge are stocked in outlet tank, it is collected and dried in the sunlight and packed as CLF Gold and sold out as organic manure to the buyers.

Showcasing local fodder tree cultivation for enhancing livestock productivity vis-à-vis greening the environment:

The locally available forages in the natural forests areas serves as the ready source of fodders for the livestock of the whole state. As a result of which, the farmers seldom cultivate fodder for their livestock; rather they leave them freely to feed themselves in the grazing or herding areas on free-range system of management. These locally available and commonly relished fodders are distributed in the forest or grazing land in form of grasses, herbs, shrubs, creepers and tree in their natural form. The locally available fodders are commonly relished by the livestock and known to be highly nutritious (high crude protein content are not only important for fodders for livestocks; rather they are important for vegetables, fruits, medicines, timber value for the human beings which are commonly termed as multipurpose tree species (MPTS).

1. Local fodder tree nursery. The locally available, commonly relished by the livestock and known to be highly nutritious fodder tree species (different species) seeds/seedlings are collected from the forest areas and raised in the nursery through polybags. These seeds/seedlings so collected from natural forest are transplanted in polybags under protected cultivation and maintained with timely watering, re-plantation and weeding management. These fodder tree seedlings of different fodder tree species are ready for transplantation in the fodder plots by 3-4 months.

The locally available and commonly relished by livestock in the nursery are Taoq (Ficus roxberghii), Taaqchin (Ficus hirta), Tokkuq-kuqsuq (Ficus glomerata), Gaay (Baohinea species), Tokkuq (Ficus almerii) and Kottal (Altocarpus hexacondi), etc. This locally available fodder tree nursery is now the centre of attraction like a busy beehive for the farmers and extension functionaries, and is now serving as the learning centre for the progressive livestock farmers. As such, the seedlings so produced are not for freedistribution, but are rather sold at nominal price @ Rs 30 – Rs 50 seedling for revenue generation for the state exchequer.

2. Demonstration of local fodder tree through cultivation in demonstration plots. Improved and sustainable fodder production packages are showcased in the local fodder tree demonstration plot in a well-fenced area of 2.5 ,acres adjoining the local fodder tree nursery. In this plot, pith digging (2ft.l X 2ft. b x 2.5ft. depth), manuring, fodder tree species-wise plantation (line spacing maintaining 6 ft plant to plant gapping), one plant species in particular sub-plot and inter-cropping with perennial grasses in between the tree plant gap, etc, are demonstrated. Inter-cropping the fodder tree species with perennial grasses is a value addition chapter and sustainable approach of fodder production.

As such, with perennial grasses inter-cropping, the fodder can be harvested after 2-3 months of its plantation and subsequent cuttings after 2-3 weekends, thereby labour cost for weeding of the plot is saved and without which no fodder could be produced from local tree fodder till 2-2.5 years of local fodder trees. Such intercropping with perennial grasses along with perennial fodder trees can last upto 2.5 years, after which the shady fodder trees becomes luxuriant. With grownup fodder trees, the fodder production per tree increases with advancement of age and after first looping of branches, the subsequent harvest from trees can be after after 1.5 to 2 months period intervals.

Impacts drawn from local fodder tree cultivation:The scarcity of fodder is addressed. The perennial fodder grasses planted are harvested after 2-2.5 months of plantation in the first year itself, followed by subsequent harvest after every 1-2-months’interval. With the harvest of the perennial grasses, the labour cost for weeding the transplanted fodder tree seedlings is saved.

Round the year fodder production: The quantity of fodder yield per fodder tree ranges from 3-4 kg in the first cutting, with increase in fodder production with the advancement of age of plant with average of 2.5-3.5 quintals/acre in later stage.

Government farmland encroachment is checked: The entire vacant fodder land has been secured with boundary fencing and the plot has the standing tree fodder covered with perennial grasses beneath distancing their guts to encroachment by local people.

The greenery cover of central cattle breeding farm, Nirjuli has been improved with standing green-lush tree fodder (at top) and greenish perennial grass beneath it (bottom layer), thereby addressing the scarcity of fodders, especially during lean seasons which was barren land during winter season earlier.

Conclusion:

This small step of show casing different farmer-centric improved farming technologies with innovative idea and affordable nature to the farmers in central cattle breeding farm, Nirjuli is a big leap in the animal husbandry sector. The overall concept of this initiative is to inculcate in the farming community the idea of ‘Seeing is believing and learning by doing’. With the knowledge gained from the showcasing of the improved farming technologies at the central cattle breeding farm, the farmers can choose and apply in their own field condition for doubling their farm income.