To understand the unexplored potential of the sheep and wool industry in Kashmir, it is imperative to go through some quick facts from global success stories which should help in understanding the realm of possibilities.
Australia is the first case study. It produced 8 percent of the world’s sheep meat supply in 2017 and exported 56 percent of its lamb and 95 percent of its mutton to countries around the world. Australia’s sheep meat industry is worth about $5.23 billion and the wool brought another $3.4 billion home in 2018-19.
There are nearly 67 million sheep – including 31 million Merino-breeding ewes – in Australia and 200,000 people are employed in the wool industry.
The second case is of New Zealand, where in the 2021 financial year, meat and wool exports had a value of 10.39 billion New Zealand dollars.
In the backdrop of the great economic success in these developed countries, Kashmir’s sheep and wool industry remains as archaic as the history of the farming sector. There have been fewer modern interventions in Kashmir meant to upgrade the sheep and wool industry.
Despite the fact that there are 70033 small-scale and medium-scale sheep breeders in ten districts of Kashmir valley with the livestock strength of two million, the sheep and wool industry has not undergone the modernization process that is required to scale up the numbers and value-additions.
For most past of the year, Kashmir’s mountainous landscape and bountiful meadows and pastures ease the monetary pressures on the sheep farmers, which usually mount during the barren and cold winters. The sheep farmers in Kashmir send their entire flock to the alpine grasslands during the summer months where they are taken care of by families belonging to the communities of traditional herders – Gujjars, Bakerwals and Chopans.
While this is a cost-effective annual affair, the dangers of natural calamities and threat of fatal attacks by wild animals always exist and there have been many cases of flocks getting annihilated by lightening or mass casualties reported in leopard or bear attacks.
The concept of intensive or semi-extensive farming – where the flock is bred inside a farm or in its vicinity where they remain secure from such disasters – mostly remains an unexplored option.
The rare snowfall in mountainous higher reaches of Kashmir in June this year, when flocks of sheep had settled in the alpine grasslands, also exposed this industry to the threat of climate change as widespread casualties of sheep were reported in the region and severe losses were caused to the farmers. The snowfall in June was declared as a natural disaster.
While meat sector still remains profitable and demand remains significant, the most apathetic condition remains of the wool sector. Even as Kashmir produces nearly five to seven million kilograms of wool annually–most of which is fine-quality Merino wool–there are inadequate processing units in the region.
Wool undergoes several stages of processing, each of which gives a value addition to it and increases its cost. The cost difference between the raw product, wool, and the final product, a sweater or a blanket, can be as high as 500 percent.
The retail market price of wool has witnessed a remarkable drop in Kashmir in recent years. In the pre-pandemic years, the wool was being sold at the rate of Rs 140 per kg, while in the pandemic years it has fallen to as low as Rs 25 per kg.
The losses in the wool sector over the last three years are significant while the recurring losses caused by the absence of a processing industry in the region are phenomenal. This even as Kashmir could have built its own brand in the processed wool sector.
Another key aspect that is needed to strengthen the sheep industry is to broaden the focus from wool-producing sheep breeds to meat-specific sheep breeds which gain more weight in a short span of time. It will cater to the growing demand of mutton market within Jammu and Kashmir as well as other neighbouring states.
While Jammu and Kashmir administration has made some headway on this path by introducing large-framed Australian Merino breed, the distribution process of their pure-line and cross-bred progeny needs to be expanded.
The success of introducing Corriedale breed – which is a dual purpose meat and wool sheep – in southern Shopian district should serve as a template for experimenting and introducing more dual-purpose breeds in the region.
While the Jammu and Kashmir administration had made some significant efforts to upgrade this industry, there is a scope to do lot more and a well-researched policy statement is needed to fully explore the potential of this sector.
The recent memorandum of understanding with the New Zealand government aimed at doubling the produce Jammu and Kashmir in the next three years with substantial increment in quality of livestock products, wool production and introducing processing facilities and value addition is an indication that Jammu and Kashmir government understands the full potential of this industry.
A well-schemed support structure to this sector has a potential to rescue Jammu and Kashmir from the scourge of unemployment. Even if the demands of the local market are met in Jammu and Kashmir, where approximately 500 lakh kilograms of mutton is consumed annually while only half of it is produced locally, it can help a large section of unemployed youth to generate a sustainable livelihood.
Sheep farming can be a major avenue to be explored to help a young generation of entrepreneurs earn livelihood and create employment for others. There are some challenges, but there are also opportunities. The winter may be tough, but summer, spring and autumn are productive and easy-going seasons.
The need of the hour is a focused and scientific approach of the administration in broadening the vista offered by this sector. There is also a need to increase the number of subsidy and participatory schemes introduced by the administration and allow and encourage more young men and women to adopt this industry on entrepreneurial scale.
