QR code ear tags to help buyers trace identity of goats in Rajasthan
JAIPUR: You love your meat, don’t you? But have you ever wondered from where it is coming? Did the goat have any disease? Was it vaccinated?
The Rajasthan animal husbandry department is working on a project to provide source of goats to its buyers, whether for milk or for meat.
According to the 2012 livestock census, Rajasthan has about 21 million goats, which is 37% of its livestock population. Animal husbandry department offi cials said every month, nearly 40,000 goats from Rajasthan go t o nearby st ates f or slaughter.
Goat population is concentrated in western Rajasthan districts of Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Nagaur.
“We have put QR code ear tags on 300 goats in Ajmer district, and another 10,000 goats will get the tags in next three months. We have also trained lady link workers (LLWS) in 150 gram panchayats in the pilot 12 districts under the Rajasthan Agricultural Competiveness Project (RACP) to maintain digital record of goats,” said Rajasthan agriculture commissioner Dr Omprakash.
The project is empowering goat farmers to sell their animals through online marketing, he added.
For this, Rajasthan agriculture minister Lal Chand Kataria l aunched www. r aj asthangoat.com on December 7 and provided tablets to LLWS for digitizing information for real time availability and quick actions.
“The real time information of marketable goats with traceability will help farmers to get better price from big private players and exporters,” said Dr Pritpal Singh Kalra, project director, animal husbandry.
The website has links for downloading mobile app for buyers. The real-time information will include details such as weight, breeding details and history of vaccines and diseases. “Through the app, buyers can track a goat in real time,” Dr Omprakash said.
Women farmers have formed two companies called Farmer Producer Company ( FPC): Matree Mahila Dairy and Agriculture Producer Company (MMDAPC) in Duni gram panchayat in Tonk district for manufacturing and marketing of goat milk and milk products; and Pisangan Mahila Bakri Prod u c e r C o mpa n y L i mi t e d (PMBPPCL) in Pisangan gram panchayat in Ajmer district for live goat marketing.
The website – www.rajasthangoat.com – is live with information about goats from Pisangan. Information of goats from other gram panchayats will be added s oon, Dr Kalra s ai d. Pisangan is known for Sirohi goat, a dual-purpose compact, medium t o l arge si zed goat breed reared for both meat and milk production and named after its actual breeding tract, Sirohi district of Rajasthan.
The agriculture commissioner said LLWS have been appointed to help women goat farmers get better price without middlemen and help buyers get better quality of livestock.
“The workers play an important link between goat farmers and the technical officials of the project,” he added.
These workers in Ajmer, Alwar, Bundi, Banswara, Bikaner, Nagaur, Jaipur, Dholpur, Jhalawar, Chittorgarh, Tonk and Baran districts have been trained for improved goat husbandry practices.
“They visit goat farmers and motivate them for better practices especially timely vaccination to prevent diseases which otherwise result in heavy mort ali t y, and f odder management,” Dr Omprakash said.
Dr Kalra said the Pisangan FPC has started marketing goats to big online meat companies such as Licious and breeders in the state.
He said goats provide a significant role in providing supplementary income and livelihood to millions of recourse poor farmers and landless labourers of rural India.
“Small ruminant rearing ensures self-employment and acts s a cushion in distress situations like drought and famine. The initiative will prove to be an i mpor t a n t mi l e s t o n e for improving the income of goat farmers,” he added.