Milk production up but cattle population down

By Rameshwor Yadav

KATHMANDU, Nov 30: Although the total number of cow and buffalo in the country is put at 7 million and 3.6 million respectively, but only a small percentage of them are milking at any given time. "Only about 12 per cent of the cows and 26 per cent of the buffaloes are giving milk at any time," according to the statistics of the livestock situation published by the Department of Livestock Services.
The total number of cattle has decreased by about 40,000 but that of the buffalos has increased by 98,000 from the fiscal years 1999/2000 to 2000/2001.

The Department cites the decrease in the number of cattle to insufficient artificial insemination programme, lack of exotic-breed distribution programme and other supporting livestock services. However, the increase in the number of buffaloes was mainly because they need less care than the cows.

The number of milking cows and milking buffalos has, however, increased by about 12,000 and 26,000 respectively during the same period.

Livestock contributes 18 per cent of the country's gross domestic product, and dairy products contribute 6 per cent to the gross agriculture domestic products.

The total production of milk in the fiscal year 2000/01 was 1.12 million metric tons, and 200,000 litres milk are been consumed everyday in the country. Half per cent of them in Kathmandu Valley, Sherchand said.

But the milking capacity of Nepalese cows is much less. They give only about two litres of milk a day.
But Sherchand says, after the improvement of breeding through artificial insemination they can give more than eight litres per day, he said, adding that such improved calf can reproduce and give milk in three years time.

Laxman Sherchand, an official at the breeding section of the Department told The Rising Nepal that the number of high-yielding dairy cow has increased by about four per cent till April this year.
Similarly, the traditional variety of buffaloes give about 3-4 liters per day but the improved breeds can give milk up to 8 liters, he said.

According to the data, the country's milk production increased by 2.48 in the fiscal years 2000/01 than in the previous year. The total production of milk that year was 1.12 million tons. Of them, the cow milk was 342,000 tons and that of the buffalo was 781,000 tons.

The quality of milk production depends on breeding, management of the cattle, nutrition and animal health and extension, said Shyam Sundar Yadav, another official at the Department, adding the amount of milk produced depends on the livestock extension programme.

The consumption per person per year is 8 per cent less than the prescribed for normal nutrition. A person needs 57 litres of milk annually.

The buffalo milk contains seven percent where as the cow milk contains only 4.5 per cent fat. But during pasturisation, milk fats are extracted and the diary milks contain only about 3 per cent of fat.

'Cooperate govt for early polls'

RSS

KATHMANDU, Nov. 30: Rajsabha Standing Committee Chairman Dr. Keshur Jung Rayamajhi, at a felicitation programme organised by the Pariyar Services Society here today, felicitated Minister for Women Children and Social Welfare Gore Bahadur Khapangi, Assistant Minister for Population and Environment Gopal Dahit and Assistant Minister for Land Reforms and Management Prakash Chitrakar.

On the occasion, Dr. Rayamajhi said that all the political parties and the civic societies should extend cooperation to the present government which has been entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring law and order and holding elections as early as possible for the protection and promotion of the Constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy.

Referring to the prevalence of numerous problems of the Dalits and the indigenous people in the country, Dr. Rayamajhi pointed out the need for unity among the Dalits and the indigenous people for the protection and promotion of their rights and interests.

Minister Khapangi, one of the three persons felicitated at the programme, said that the oppressed, downtrodden and the indigenous people should be made capable of launching social and political movement and only there would always be commitment for the upliftment of the community that has remained backward for centuries.

Assistant Minister Dahit called upon every segment of the society to extend cooperation to the present government entrusted with the task of ensuring law and order and holding elections as soon as possible at a time when the country was suffering from violence and counter-violence.
Former MP Man Bahadur Bishwakarma, chairman of the National Dalit Commission Padma Singh Bishwakarma, academician Ramsharan Darnal and advisor Ganesh Pariyar also expressed their views at the programme chaired by society president Badri Prasad Budhathoki.

Officials agree to give SAFTA draft final shape

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU Nov 30: The Joint Secretary-level meeting for the preparations of the final draft on the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) concluded here today with the consensus of giving it a final shape in the next meeting.

The next round meeting will be held from December 27 in Kathmandu.

Today's meeting zeroed in on issues related to the internal arrangement and the objecitve of SAFTA.
"Major issues such as - trade liberalisation, safeguard measures and rules of origin are yet to be discussed," said Purshottam Ojha, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Industry Commerce and Supplies.

According to Ojha, representatives from all the member states are positive to give a final shape to the draft. He said, "Most probably the draft would get a final shape before the 12th SAARC summit to be held in Islamabad in January."

The SAARC leaders during their 11th summit held in Kathmandu in January this year had proposed to prepare the final draft of the SAFTA for discussion in the next summit.

The member states had discussed ways in building a regional economic regime like that of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), North Atlantic Free Trade Arrangement (NAFTA) and the European Union as directed by the SAARC Council of Ministers' meet held in August.

Efforts to promote children's rights insufficient

By Bishnu Prasad Aryal

KATHMANDU, Nov. 30: Despite that Nepal is one of the immediate signatories to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child after it came into being in 1989, the country has failed to submit its country report since then except its regular feature of observing the International Children's Rights Day that falls on November 20.

Nepal signed the Convention in 1990, only one year after the UN adopted the Convention recognising the children's rights. But it has failed to submit the country report even once. Once a nation commits to the convention, it is required to submit its country report every five years.

Nepal had submitted its preliminary report in 1995, which, too, was three years after the stipulated time. Furthermore, Nepal has also failed to formulate and implement laws for the interest of the children.

The overall situation is that majority of Nepal's 9.4 million children are deprived of their rights from the lack of implementation of the existing rules and regulations.

"No government since the restoration of democracy in 1991 were committed to ensure the child rights as a fundamental rights to nurture the potential and overall interest of the children," advocate and child rights activist Bal Krishna Mainali told The Rising Nepal. He, however, said a draft report has been prepared but the final report to be submitted to the UN has not been accomplished yet.

After the ratification of the convention, the provision enshrined in it becomes the complementary part of our law, Mainali said.

The CRC comprises of 54 articles of which the first 41 are related to children's rights on education, health, housing and all forms of exploitations including sexual; and the remaining articles are related to the implementation of those conformed articles.

Tallying with the spirit of the CRC and the ratification of Nepal towards it, the Children's Act 1992 is also incomplete in relation to the CRC. It includes only 18 clauses, from 3 to 20, related to children's rights.

Mainali calls this discrepancy to the haste made while drafting the Act, and that even those clauses included in the Act have not been fully implemented. He said several articles of the act need to be amended to comply them with the CRC. "The UN recommended Nepal to improve the six points (from clauses 30 to 35) mentioned in the preliminary report submitted by Nepal," Mainali said.

One positive step, however, was the establishment of children's benches in all the 75 district courts in 2000 to ensure fundamental rights to children. "But it has become toothless. Not a single case related to children has been filed due to lack of clarity in the clauses," said Mainali.

The act does not include the children rights to form their organisation and register it with the district administration committee. The Supreme Court had, in its verdict to a case, had decided that children's organisation be registered with the district administration office.

But the government, instead, formed district child welfare committees and made provision that such organisations be registered with the committee rather than with the District Administration Office. As a result, there is no children's organisation registered with the government, said Mainali.

Mainali further said that the child prisoners are handcuffed and are kept with adult prisoners although both the CRC and the verdict made by the Supreme Court prohibit it.

Moreover, the situation of children in Nepal is worsening due to the terrorist activities of Maoists.

"Many children in the Maoist affected areas are deprived of administering polio drops and many others are displaced from their houses," adds Mainali. There are also reports of the Maoists forcing children to carry weapons, in terrorist activities, and as human shield in their attacks.