Banke. Women farmers of Raptisonari Rural Municipality in Banke district have been attracted towards goat rearing lately.

According to Dibya Gurung, manager of the newly created social entrepreneur women cooperative, based in Raptisonari-6, Tepari, the farmers have been attracted to goat rearing.

According to him, women farmers belonging to various groups formed by cooperatives have been engaged in goat rearing. The Raptisonari has attracted farmers to goat rearing as it has more forest area.

The farmers have been selling the goats through cooperatives. The cooperatives buy from the farmers while the cooperatives sell them to traders outside the district at a profit of Rs 10 per kg. More goats are sold during Dashain and Tihar than during other times.

The newly creative social entrepreneur women cooperative at Raptisonari-6, Tepari has bought and sold more than 100 goats produced by farmers this year. According to Gurung, the women farmers have been able to earn around Rs 19 lakhs from this.

The women farmers of Raptisonari are also becoming self-reliant through goat rearing. Lal Bahadur Thapa, a leader of Raptisonari-7, said that people earn money by selling goats during big festivals like Dashain and Tihar.

According to Pampha Pariyar, manager of the organization, the Parivartan Social Entrepreneurs Women Cooperatives based in Raptisonari-7, Lalpur bought and sold more than 200 goats worth Rs 3.2 million from farmers during the Dashain festival this year.

Similarly, women farmers have been rearing goats in Khaskushma, Kachanapur, Mahadevpuri, Binauna and Baijapur of Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality. According to him, goats worth over Rs 20 million have been sold through various cooperatives in Banke district during this year’s Dashain and Tihar festivals.

There are 1,000 women farmers in 59 groups formed through cooperatives. Among them, around six hundred women farmers are engaged in commercial goat rearing. The cooperative has also been providing loan for goat and goat rearing, said Gurung, manager of Creative Social Entrepreneur Women Cooperative.

Ram Lakhan Chaudhari, ward chairperson of Raptisonari Rural Municipality-7, said that farmers are becoming self-reliant in goat rearing as Heifer International and other organisations have been supporting the marketing of goats produced by women farmers in Banke district.

Chairperson of Raptisonari rural municipality, Tapta Bahadur Poudel, said that the rural municipality is a pocket area for goat farming. He said the rural municipality has taken necessary initiatives to attract farmers to goat farming.