Sindhupalchowk. Melamchi Municipality here has provided incentive money to the farmers who reared bulls in the last fiscal year.

Municipality Mayor Aitman Tamang informed that an incentive of Rs 5,000 has been provided to 240 farmers. He said that the trend of rearing bulls has been removed due to the increase in the arrival of technology-based tractors in the recent past.

“New techniques of ploughing the fields are coming up, which may lead to the extinction of the practice of rearing cattle. That’s why the municipality has adopted a policy to encourage farmers to rear bullocks,” said Mayor Tamang.

Amarnath Acharya, chief of agriculture development section of the municipality, said that they have been requested to insure animals for the grant amount. According to him, the insured farmers have been provided the money through bank accounts and the farmers who have been insured but do not have a bank account.

According to the municipality, the program is expected to not only encourage the farmers but also improve soil and biodiversity conservation by producing organic fertilizers.