ICAR NAGALAND: Semi-intensive Mithun rearing model scores success

October 19, 2022 19 Views No Comment

Our Correspondent
Kohima | October 18

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National Research Centre on Mithun, Medziphema has developed an alternative package of practices of Mithun rearing called semi-intensive rearing system under Tribal Sub Plan (2016-2021).

So far, the institute has established 26 semi-intensive Mithun rearing models in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.

Nagaland Planning & Coordination, Land Revenue and Parliamentary Affairs, Minister Neiba Kronu recently released a booklet on success stories of semi-intensive Mithun farming during the 35th Foundation day of ICAR-National Research Centre on Mithun.

Under this alternative, semi-intensive system, mithuns are provided with a night shelter. The animals are let loose for grazing during the day. In the evening, animals are brought back to the shelter and fed with supplements like fodder grass, paddy straw with little concentrate. Each animal is ear-tagged or micro-chipped for proper identification. The supervision of animals, additional feeding, watering, and medication is done during the late afternoon or early morning.

“The biggest advantage of this system is that the animals are monitored by the owner regularly for growth, reproduction and health care, and breeding,” the booklet stated.

Regular vaccination against common infectious diseases, prophylactic deworming, and other health care practices are being followed.

To prevent Mithun from trespassing into the agricultural fields, barbed wire is provided under TPS.

The selected villages or selected Mithun societies are provided with CGI sheets of making night shelter which is generally made outside the village at the periphery of the forest so that Mithun can easily be looked after by the owner.

Fabricated Travis is installed near the animal shed for the restraining of Mithun for treatment, vaccination, deworming and ear tagging etc.

Provision of concrete wooden manger is also made near the shed so that additional supplements like feed blocks, salt and mineral mixture etc. may be provided from time to time.

The rainwater is harvested by installing PVC pipes at the edges of the shed and stored in the pond which improves the Mithun’s access to water immensely.

Vermicompost unit is established and prepared using decomposed materials like Mithun dung, vegetables and fruit wastes and crop recidues etc.

In addition to barbed wires, Travis, CGI sheets, gumboots, bags, caps and raincoats are distributed to the mithun rearing farmers for easy monitoring and supervision of the mithuns in harsh climatic conditions.

Success story
Tening village in Peren district of Nagaland has been rearing Mithun since time immemorial. At one point of time, there were about 300 or more Mithun with 30-40 owners in the village. However, due to the migration of the farmers to the towns in search of better employment opportunities, the rearing of Mithun was affected as most farmers sold their mithuns and till 2016, only 50 mithuns remained with 8 owners.

In 2017, the Mithun famers decided that they need to act quickly to conserve Mithun as it was very significant to their socio-cultural life and approached ICAR-NRC on Mithun Medziphema for conservation of their Mithun population.

Based on the problems reported, ICAR-NRC on Mithun in the year 2017, under the Tribal Sub Plan scheme, conducted one Mithun mela cum Technology Injection Programme and introduced a semi-intensive Mithun rearing model in the village by providing 15 rolls barbed wires, 30 CGI sheets, 100 ear tags, one travis, one Mithun bull, 5 pairs of gumboots and raincoats.

A Mithun shed, salt and mineral licking block was also constructed so that a night shelter for the mithuns would be available. A total of 2 hectares of forest area was fenced.

There was an increase in the number of Mithun farmers from 8 to 13. Since the intervention, an increase in the Mithun population was observed from 50 (2016) to 70 (2020).

A total of Rs. 9,75,000 was obtained as profit during the period.

The intervention resulted significant benefits in respects of better monitoring and supervision of the Mithun, decrease in the death of calves from predator attacks, decrease in Mithun-human conflict because of fencing and ear tagging of all the mithuns, no report of FMD outbreak etc.

This is the first of a two part series.

Source: https://morungexpress.com/icar-nagaland-semi-intensive-mithun-rearing-model-scores-success