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Intensive livestock farming and crop farming to be developed together in Khongor, Darkhan-Uul
Economy | Agriculture
Darkhan-Uul /MONTSAME/ Despite its small territory, Darkhan-Uul aimag is one of the country’s key animal and crop farming regions. The aimag’s Khongor soum is zoned as farming zone under the Government’s Resolution No. 131 of 2018, which has made it necessary to consider what actions to take regarding the existing pasture-based livestock farming system and to give more focus to quality over quantity.
According to B.Tumur, specialist, Department of Agriculture, Governor’s Office of Khongor soum, crop farming and intensive livestock farming are being developed together in phases since the soum was zoned as farming land. To be specific, the aimag is implementing a sub-program to promote the national program for fostering intensive animal farming.
With increased emphasis put on quality over quantity, infrastructure development for intensive animal farming (livestock winter shelters, wells, veterinary and breeding service stations) is underway on a 5-hectare area in Khar Belchir Valley, Khongor soum, using MNT 236.2 million. 100 head of beef cows and three bulls were brought there for MNT 150 million and 93 calves were born in the first year. There are plans to sign contracts to lease calves from the breed to herders and to improve the cattle breed. Moreover, with MNT 18 million funding from the local development fund, 365 cows owned by 95 herder families were artificially inseminated from bulls from the highly productive beef breed, Limousin, and the dairy and beef dual-purpose breed, Simmental, and the calving rate is currently at 77 percent.
The contract to purchase Bayad, Kerei, and Ulgii breed rams and bucks with another MNT 25 million funding from the local development fund has been put out to bid to improve small stock (ovine and caprine) breeds.
The soum is switching from pasture-based animal farming to intensive animal farming through partnership between the local government and herder community by prioritizing quality over quantity and raising and breeding livestock from highly productive breeds. This may not be completed within one or two years, but the feasibility is there.
A team formed on orders from aimag and soum governors is developing a plan to relocate livestock owners out of the farming region, where there are currently 750 herders and livestock owners, to pasture farming regions this year.
