Thursday, Oct 14, 2010
http://www.hindu.com/2010/10/14/stories/2010101456510700.htm
http://www.hindu.com/2010/10/14/stories/2010101456510700.htm
Tirupur: To promote meat industry and thereby enhance the livelihood of the rural folks in the district, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will be extending financial assistance under capital subsidy mode for piggery development, sheep/goat rearing and backyard poultry this fiscal.
NABARD Assistant General Manager G. Santhanam told ‘The Hindu' that the meat industry had a significant potential but could not get adequate attention for its growth and hence, the scheme. Under the piggery development component, credit-linked back-ended subsidy at 25 per cent of the capital cost would be extended to the farmers/landless labourers and cooperatives to rear and fatten pigs as well as to set up breeding farms.
“The upper ceiling of project cost in the case of one rearing/fattening unit (three females and one male) has been pegged at Rs. 76,000, whereas the capital expenditure ceiling for setting up a breeding farm comprising 20 female pigs and four males is fixed at Rs. 6 lakh,” Mr. Santhanam said. The project cost includes the rearing/breeding and setting up of sheds and other sundry structures.
In the case of goats/sheep rearing and breeding farms, the credit-linked back-ended subsidy would be disbursed at the rate of 25 per cent of the capital cost for general farmers and 33.33 per cent for those beneficiaries from scheduled caste/scheduled tribe communities.
“One rearing unit should contain 40 female sheep/goat and two males with the capital cost not exceeding Rs. 1 lakh, while a breeding farm should have 500 female goats/sheep and 25 male goats/sheep with project cost pegged at a maximum of Rs. 25 lakh,” he said.
For the promotion of backyard poultry, it would extend interest-free loan up to Rs. 36,000 apart from the back-ended subsidy of Rs. 20,000 for each batch of chicks (1,500 country fowl) costing Rs. 1.36 lakh.
