Kathmandu, July 26

The government has set a target to be self-reliant on meat and milk products within fiscal year 2018-19.

The Ministry of Livestock Development (MoLD) has introduced programmes at local level to be self-reliant on meat within this fiscal and milk by next fiscal.

Currently, consumption of meat is 14 kg per person per year and the country has been producing 12.5 kg per person per year.

“We have introduced various programmes through local bodies to massively increase the production of livestock farming,” said Banshi Sharma, joint secretary of the Livestock Productions and Business Promotion Division of the MoLD. “If successful, we will be able to cater to the country’s demand from our own production.”

Likewise, the country has to increase its milk production by 19 litres per person per year to be self-reliant on milk products.

As per Sharma, per person per year milk consumption, which currently stands at 72 litres, needs to be raised to 91 litres per person per year by 2018-19 to meet the nutritional requirements set by the government.

The country became self-reliant on eggs in the last fiscal. As per the nutritional requirement, the country’s egg production is sufficient to meet the demand of 48 eggs per person per year, according to Sharma.

“In the context of rising import of livestock, the MoLD has been planning to conduct mission programmes in

livestock production.”

Sharma highlighted the gap of veterinary services, insurance and market facility at the local level as hindrances in promoting livestock farming in a massive way.

The local units are going to spend Rs 3.44 billion in the sector of livestock development in this fiscal.