The Uttarakhand government had launched the Structured Breeding Programme through Merino sheep imported from Australia in the state. This is a revolutionary and progressive step that will prove to be a boon for the farmers of the State.

The breeding programme will help the state to match the levels of produced by Australia and New Zealand. "Moreover, the programme will help in realising the Prime Minister's call for 'Aatmanirbharta' and doubling of farmers' income´,  R Meenakshi Sundaram, Secretary for Animal Husbandry of the state said.

For this initiative, 10 aggregation camps are being proposed at Joshimath, Chamoli, Bhatwari, Purola, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar. The idea is to produce 500 metric tonnes of wool by 2023-2024, the government officials said.

"Merino sheep has the ability to grow farmers' income by 32 times in the coming 5-6 years. The wool production of the sheep is five to six kilogram per year as compared to the local sheep which produces 1-1.5 kg per year. These sheep produce 18-micron diameter wool (fine wool) which has a market value of around Rs 800 as compared to Rs 100 of the coarse wool which is produced by the local sheep.

The official added that, "After about five months of successful rearing in the state, the lab result of wool was satisfying, proving the adaptability of imported Merino sheep here. To date, 240 sheep have well acclimatized to the climate of the state and have produced 600 healthy lambs through artificial insemination. The state has 3,00,000 sheep which produce coarse carpet quality wool at present,"

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