Ilam. In rural areas, cow rearing is still considered a traditional and common source of income. Gopal Acharya of Suryodaya Municipality-3 in Ilam has been earning Rs 350,000 a month from cow rearing. He has been promoting cow rearing in a modern, systematic and professional manner.

Acharya said that he has been earning rs 288,000 to Rs 360,000 per month from the sale of milk by operating ‘Panchamrit Cow Farm’. Stating that the farm produces 160 to 200 liters of milk daily, he said that the nearby Panchamrit Dairy industry is selling it at the rate of Rs 60 per liter.

Acharya, who started the cattle rearing business in 2070 BS with a loan of Rs 1 million from the Rastriya Banijya Bank, now has 34 cows in his farm. “Of these, 12 are in the middle and the rest are in the process of being washed away. A separate shed has been constructed for calves in the farm. When I started the business, I had no experience, I thought of selling milk by milking cows,” he said. The experience has been teaching. ’

Acharya has been reinvesting his income from cow rearing in the same business. According to him, the value of the farm, which has been privately invested around Rs 3 million so far, has now reached around Rs 10 million. Acharya has purchased a pick-up vehicle from the farm’s income to transport milk. He said that the vehicle used to take milk to the dairy for sale in the morning and feed water for cows in the afternoon.

Acharya informed that three people got employment in the farm with the support of the family. He said that two people have hired an employee to drive a vehicle for the farm. “Not only myself, I have hired two workers at the cow farm and one driver in the pick-up,” he said, adding that rs 42,000 is spent on their salary alone. ’

Along with cow rearing, he has also expanded grass farming in 200 ropanis of land. He has rented 70 ropanis and 130 ropanis of his own land to cultivate grass. Supernapier has been planted in 20 ropanis of land, Amriso in 40 ropanis of land and dal and local varieties of grass in the rest.

He said that he has been earning an additional Rs 100,000 annually from the sale of manure prepared from cow dung. Acharya said that local tea cooperatives and tea farmers buy the fertilizer produced.

Acharya has also received partial government support to run the farm. Two years ago, the Koshi state government had provided a grant of Rs 250,000 for the purchase of milking equipment and Rs 20,000 from Suryodaya Municipality for improvement of bhakaro.

Archaya, who has achieved success in the cattle rearing business, said that he had lost 14 cows due to lumpin disease. He complained that he had received Rs 40,000 as compensation from insurance and did not get any other government assistance. “I got only Rs 40,000 as insurance and no other relief was received from anywhere,” he said. ’

Stating that there is no need to go abroad to earn money, Acharya opined that self-employment-oriented work can be done by developing skills at home. “I have started commercial cow rearing in the village to give a message that unemployed youth can go abroad and become self-employed by staying in the villages,” he said. ’