Telangana moving towards self sufficiency in meat production

Telangana is ranked fifth in meat production in the country and the meat production in the State stands at 9.75 lakh metric tonnes.

Hyderabad: The Sheep Distribution Scheme is helping the State move towards self-sufficiency in meat production. Currently, Telangana is ranked fifth in meat production in the country.

According to Animal Husbandry department officials, due to the sheep distribution scheme, there was significant reduction in import of meat from other States. Currently, the meat production in the State stands at 9.75 lakh metric tonnes. In fact, an additional meat production of 1.11 lakh metric tonnes was recorded after the implementation of the scheme. National average consumption of meat was 5.4 kg, whereas, the Telangana average was 21.17 kg. The production of mutton in the State in 2015-16 stood at 1.35 lakh metric tonnes, which increased to 3.03 lakh metric tonnes in 2020-21, an increase of 124 percent, officials said.

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In the first phase of the scheme, about 82.74 lakh sheep were handed over to 3.94 lakh beneficiaries at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore. Officials said the government had allocated Rs 6,125 crore to distribute 73.50 lakh sheep among 3.50 lakh beneficiaries. Out of the Rs.6,125 crore outlay, government subsidy would be Rs 4,593.75 crore and the beneficiary’s share would be Rs.1,531.25 crore. For the second phase of the scheme, the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) has sanctioned a loan of Rs.4,563.75 crore.

According to the 20th National Cattle Census conducted in 2019, with 190.63 lakh sheep Telangana stood first in the country. The government has increased the unit value of sheep from Rs 1.25 lakh to Rs 1.75 lakh to procure a quality breed of sheep. Out of the Rs 1.75 lakh loan amount, Rs.1,31,250 would be grant and the beneficiaries have to bear the balance Rs.43,750 .

There were 3,969 sheep breeding societies in Telangana during 2013-14, and by 2020-21, the number increased to 8,109. While the number of members of societies was 2,24,457 in 2014-15, by 2020-21, it shot up to 7.61 lakh .