Srinagar: The Tribal Affairs Department (TAD) and the Central Wool Development Board (CWDB), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India (GoI) have finalised a project aimed at benefitting nearly 30,000 tribal sheep-farming families over three years by providing skilling, financial assistance, infrastructure, and marketing support.

An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that Secretary, Tribal Affairs Department, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, and Executive Director, CWDB, Ministry of Textiles finalised the project components after detailed deliberations between the department and the board.

The proposal of the TAD being supported by the CWDB includes the establishment of two Common Facility Centres (CFC) at an estimated cost of Rs 10 crore.

One CFC each in Kashmir and Jammu provinces would be equipped with state-of-the-art machinery for wool sorting, processing, grading, and packaging.

The department is rolling out a plan to train nearly 30,000 tribal sheep farmers in mechanised sheep shearing which would lead to an increase in wool production, improvement in the quality of wool, and reduced cost of shearing.

Mechanical shearing units worth Rs 2 crore have been included in the project which would be provided to tribal farmer groups.

Each group would be provided with machinery up to Rs 3 lakh.

The establishment of wool mandis at three locations and more than 40 centres for wool collections and transit support have been approved under the project.

Other components include the market intervention and support scheme as well as the development of a portal for expanding the wool sale network.

Farmer Produce Organisations and SHGs are to be constituted under the project to avail benefits under various components of the project.

Dr Shahid Choudhary in a detailed presentation shared the huge potential of tribal wool as a sheep population of nearly 25 lakh migrating to highland pastures and in absence of value addition and marketing facilities, the tribal farmers do not receive attractive returns.

Interventions under the project would provide massive opportunities for the sale of wool and wool products with direct benefit to the sheep breeders.

Executive Director, CWDB, Ministry of Textiles along with Technical Director Anurag Purohit briefed about the collaboration between the board and TAD for effective implementation of the project to cover maximum tribal sheep farmers and specifically the migratory population to improve their economic status.

Specific support is being extended for marketing support and value addition.

The TAD has already provided 20,000 sheep to tribal farmers over the last year and a half under specific intervention through mini sheep farms through Sheep Husbandry Department.

Apart from expanding the sheep population, the department is focusing on the marketing of wool to ensure an organised market for optimum returns to sheep farmers.

The training would be conducted by the Tribal Research Institute in collaboration with the universities and institutes of excellence in the sheep husbandry sector.

The project is being launched in October 2022.

Secretary in Tribal Affairs Department Harun Malik, Director Tribal Affairs Mushir Ahmed Mirza, Joint Director Planning Shama un Ahmad, Deputy Director TRI Abdul Khabir, and Deputy Director TAD Kashmir Dilshada Akhter were also present in the meeting.