Nuwakot. Lately, the issue of Murra buffalo has started to gain a place in the Nepali media. On the occasion of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s official visit to India in the second week of last May, the issue of India providing 15 Murra Rangos to Nepal gained importance. This topic was also discussed in the Federal Parliament of Nepal.
It has become a laughing matter, but breeding improvement of advanced breed of Murra buffalo is essential for agrarian Nepal. This is an important topic for agricultural experts who understand the country and abroad. During the time of the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, there was a demand for buffaloes of this breed from India, and an agreement was reached to provide them on the occasion of Prime Minister Dahal’s visit.
A year ago, in a fair held in Rajasthan, India, the price of a buffalo with a height of 1500 kilograms, a height of 6 feet and a length of 14 feet was set at 10 million baht. Murra buffaloes are not only heavy, but also attractive to look at. They can give at least 25 liters of milk at a time. It is a kind of boon for countries like India and Nepal for commercial animal husbandry.
Before Prime Minister Prachanda’s visit to India, buffaloes of Murra breed were already available at Kandel Agricultural Farm Pvt. Ltd. in Belkotgarhi Municipality-11 Tigaon of Nuwakot. Permission and various procedures must be completed to bring Murra buffaloes from India through formal channels.
The farm bought the buffaloes brought from places like Sitamarhi, Delhi and Haryana in India to Nepal’s border areas including Bhairahawa and reared by informal means from Nepalese businessmen. Currently, a buffalo gives up to 28 liters of milk daily. They are classified based on the percentage of Murra species in those buffaloes.
A full murra buffalo is very expensive. The farm has fetched Rs 2 lakh to 10 lakh per buffalo. Now the color of the farm is also used to clothe the buffaloes of other local people. “I came to know about Murra buffaloes during my studies on how to do commercial farming,” Gopi Prasad Kandel, the president of the farm said, “It is positive that Prime Minister Prachanda will bring 15 Murra buffaloes when he goes to India. It is necessary to spread its breed all over the country and be self-sufficient in milk production. If it can be done in this way, there is no need to wander in the Gulf in the name of youth employment.
There are 10 buffaloes and 10 cows in the farm, which is located on a total of 50 acres of land and was established four years ago. There is also a cow. The farm is also preparing to breed Korean cows. Kandel said that the goal of producing 500 liters of milk per day by adding cows and buffaloes has been taken.
In order to feed nutritious grass for the cattle here, the farm has planted American grass red napier (red grass), Australian green grass (napier) in the fields. These grasses, which look like sugarcane, are easy to plant, grow and harvest. About Rs.1.5 crore has been invested in the farm so far.