Under the scheme, a yak farmer can avail of a loan of up to Rs 5.65 lakh
Yak farmers in the mountainous Arunachal Pradesh can now afford a smile, thanks to a novel initiative of the ICAR-National Research Centre.
Convinced by the proposal, banks have come forward, showing interest in giving loans to yak farmers as well as others willing to earn a livelihood through the farming of the bovine species.
The ICAR centre, based in Arunachal’s Dirang, described the approval of its proposal by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), as ’historic’.
India has around 58,000 yaks, found on the heights of Arunachal, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh. In Arunachal, their population is estimated to be around 24,000. They are found in Tawang, West Kameng and Shi Yomi districts. Under the scheme, a yak farmer can avail of a loan of up to Rs 5.65 lakh.
“The credit plan vetted by NABARD was found to be feasible for credit support by the lead banks and has been included in the Potential Linked Credit Plans of Tawang, West Kameng and Shi Yomi districts of Arunachal,” the ICAR Centre Director, Dr Mihir Sarkar said.
Dr Sarkar said anyone could avail the loan, to be given for anything related to yak farming, such as housing for the animal, its feed, treatment, procurement etc. He said an effort would be made to put in place this scheme in Ladakh where a regional centre on yak research had been approved.
“We are calling a meeting with banks in our region in November where we will discuss everything. There should be a low interest rate, a period of the moratorium as well as subsidy,” Dr Sarkar said.
