AP feels the heat of Telangana sheep scheme

Vijayawada: The sheep in Andhra Pradesh is set to go scarce soon as a sequel to the `sheep scheme’ introduced by the neighbouring Telangana government with 75 per cent subsidy. Even as the scheme was launched in Telangana on June 20, the beneficiaries herded by personnel of Animal Husbandry department in Telangana fanned out into different parts of AP scouting for the sheep.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao offered a subsidy of Rs 90, 000 for a unit of sheep costing Rs 1 25 lakh. Each unit comprises 20 sheep and a ram and it is programmed to distribute around 80 lakh sheep to 4 lakh shepherds with subsidized rates.

The acute shortage of sheep forces the growers and TS government personnel to poach the animals in the neighbouring AP. According to information, teams from Telangana already fanned out into the four Rayalaseema districts, Prakasam, Guntur and Uttarandhra region for procurement. The team are said to have been touring
the neighbouring Karnataka state also.

P Jamalaiah of Andhra Pradesh Gorrela Pempakam Darula Sangham said the young female animals aged below 3 years are in great demand than the older ones which are meant for meat with low reproductive prospects.

The Nellore breed, considered to be superior in sheep, has become the most sought-after. Four breeds from Nellore, Nellore brown, Nellore Jodipa and Nellore white (palla) in Andhra Pradesh while Jamuna Pari of Karnataka are considered to be the highest category in sheep breeds. To buy these varieties, the unit cost announced by the Telangana government would no way serve the purpose, he stated.

According to information, the AP government has issued a circular to the Animal Husbandry department to see that the shepherd in the state will not dispose their stocks. But the circular is unlikely to have much impact on the growers who are obviously tempted by attractive prices. A couple of young sheep are priced at Rs 16,000 while the aged Rs 25,000. The price may go up in view of rising demand from Telangana state.

It is feared that the buying spree of Telangana is likely to result in the meat prices shooting through the roof in AP shortly as an offshoot of demand-supply issues. As per the latest census, there are 1.76cr sheep and 63 lakh goats in AP and the growth is not impressive in the last few years for a variety of reasons.

Jamalaiah said the grazing fields gave in to highway projects, ports and airports under execution in the successor state besides deforestation. Capital alone gobbled up more than 30,000 acres, he recalled.

Greenery vanishes fast in Rayalaseema due to the recurring drought conditions. The demand for replication of the Telangana’s subsidy scheme is on the rise in the AP shepherd so as to save the livestock from poaching by the neighbouring state.

But the AP government declined the request and settled for only the pavala vaddi scheme covering loans obtained by growers from the banks for purchase of sheep and goat.

A state level convention of shepherd is scheduled to be held in Prakasam district in this month to exert pressure on the AP government in favour of supplying sheep at subsidized rates.

Chairman of Sheep Development Cooperative Society Y Nageshwara Rao Yadav however said the impact of TS’s sheep scheme on AP will not be significant. But he criticized the KCR government for his `populist scheme which will not sustain for long’.