Kathmandu, December 22
The government of Nepal has received heifers and bulls as a gift from the Republic of Korea, with the approval of Korea's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
This importation of high-quality heifers and bulls is facilitated by Heifer International Nepal and Heifer International Korea.
The first shipment of cows arrived today on Asiana Airlines, carrying 36 heifers and six breeding bulls aged six to nine months.
A handover ceremony was conducted at the Tribhuvan International Airport, where in the presence of Ambassador of South Korea to Nepal, Park Chong-Shuk and Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Govinda Sharma, the gifts were handed over to the Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Deepak Kumar Kharal.
The remaining shipments will arrive on the December 23, 25 and 28. This is the largest shipment of high-quality livestock and frozen semen (for artificial insemination) to arrive in Nepal.
The pure-bred heifers and bulls have been procured through Heifer Korea in partnership with Nonghyup National Agricultural Cooperative Federation and Seoul Dairy Cooperative.
During the handover ceremony, Ambassador Park said, "Korea expresses its commitment to support the government of Nepal with genetically improved cattle and dairy technology. We believe the gift of heifers, bulls, and frozen semen will contribute to transforming and modernising the dairy industry of Nepal."
Thanking Korea and Heifer International for the generous support, Kharal said, "Dairy is a priority sector for the Nepal government and this support will be very valuable to Nepal. We are committed to expand the benefits to millions of families engaged in dairy industry in the country."
The heifers coming from Korea will help to establish a nucleus herd of bull mothers, which will contribute to achieving the long-term dairy development vision of the government towards national economic development.
The heifers will make their way to Kamalamai Municipality of Sindhuli district, where they will be placed in improved sheds of 50 farming families, while the bulls will be placed in facilities of the National Livestock Breeding Offices across the country.
Heifer International Nepal is collaborating with the government of Nepal to implement the Milky Way programme, which aims to establish a model dairy village as an elite nucleus herd and a knowledge hub in Kamalamai Municipality, thereby strengthening cattle breeding, and improving the dairy ecosystem for the transformation of dairy sector in the country.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 23, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
