Let down by banks, Kaski livestock farmers write their own destiny

POKHARA, JUN 18 -

Once denied loans by banks and technical assistance from concerned authorities for a proposed startup, two youths from Hemja, Kaski are now laughing all the way to the bank.    

Fighting against all odds, Ghanashyam Timilsina and Madhu Tripathi started off livestock farming with the loans from cooperatives and individuals. Within

four months into the business, they are now counting monthly net earnings of Rs 70,000.

They set up a cow farm at Phirkekhola, Siddharthachowk in Pokhara, with 20 cows last year. The farm, which sent out the first pot of milk for sale on January 24, 2012, has since become a hotpot for milk drawning in overwhelming demands from consumers. It has 27 cows and 13 calves now. 

“We make Rs 13,800 daily by selling 230 litres of milk which makes up to

Rs 414,000 a month,” said a beaming Tripathi. “We make at least Rs 70,000 in net saving a month.”

Each day, consumers queue up by 4am with coupons in hand to get the milk produced in “Hemaja Cow Farm”. They had to issue coupons first hand to manage long queues of customers. The farm has also been very conscious over quality of milk-a key factor behind the farm’s growing popularity. “We are here due to quality of milk,” said Santosi Bastola, a regular customer from Bastolathar. “The milk is pure and tasty. So I make it a point to come here as early as possible.”

Timilsina, 30, and Tripathi, 24, recount their failure in getting loans from some financial institutions licenced by the Nepal Rastra Bank. They were told they loans could not be approved for them as they didn’t have land and houses at urban area for collateral.

“We talked with Gandaki Development Bank and City Development Bank but were sought collateral at urban areas,” said Timilsina, who had returned from Qatar after working there. “They told us they could consider providing us loans only after cows are brought to the farm.”

The duo has invested a total of Rs 460,000 on their business so far. They took four ropanis of land on lease from a local youth Suvarna Koirala to establish the farm. The two partners then collected cows of different breeds such as Holstein, Friesian and Jersey from Jhapa and Chitwan, paying Rs 65,000 to 92,000 for each. “Each of these cows needs around 80 litres of water but we don’t have water taps in the farm. We have not received any kind of support from the government or any sectors for this,” they lamented.

Their repeated requests to the District Livestock Development Office (DLDO) for technical support have returned blank. They collect rain water and also buy water in tanks to run their cow farm.

“We had to rebuild the shed many times due to lack of knowledge and skills. Assistance from DLDO could have saved us a larger sum,” they said, conceding their inexperience in livestock farming when they started. 

However, their dedication has paid off well and they now employ five people, including a veterinarian. “We need to be dedicated and hard-working to be successful,” said the duo.

Source: The Kathmandu Post