Elderly Herders Abandon Traditional Buffalo Farming in Nepal Amidst Shifting Lifestyles

Myagdi. Purnabahadur Jaisi, 74, of Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-4 Khamla, has abandoned buffalo farming in mobile herds, which he had been doing for 57 years. Purnabahadur, who had been earning a living by herding buffaloes in mobile herds in the jungle since the age of 18, has started staying at home after selling his buffaloes due to old age. "I was selected to join the Indian Gurkha Army, but I couldn't refuse my parents' request and went into the jungle to raise buffaloes," said Purnabahadur. "Due to health problems with increasing age, I could no longer stay in the herd, so I sold my buffaloes and started staying at home." Purnabahadur shared that he raised one son and three daughters, provided them with higher education, managed household expenses, and acquired land in the village by selling buffaloes, calves, and ghee. "The mobile herd, which started with one buffalo, grew to 36 buffaloes," he said. "I managed household expenses by selling calves, buffaloes, and ghee." Purnabahadur stated that the tradition of buffalo farming in mobile herds is disappearing as the new generation is attracted to foreign employment, even though there is potential for livelihood, self-employment, and income generation, but it requires hard work. Kirtabahadur Ghartimagar, 80, of Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-4 Bagar, herded buffaloes in mobile herds for 64 years. Due to health problems, Kirtabahadur ended his mobile herd buffalo farming profession, which he started at the age of eight, 10 years ago. "In my childhood, there was no house without a herd of cows and buffaloes," said Kirtabahadur. "Now, the few remaining herds are also on the verge of disappearing after we elderly people leave them." Kirtabahadur, met a few days ago at a mobile herd in Dobhan, at an altitude of three thousand meters above sea level, shared his experiences of mobile herding. "Going to the herd back then was like going abroad now," he recalled. "We used to move the herds in the hills, cliffs, and jungles of the high and low lands without regard for rain or storms. We would meet our families when we came to the fields near the village in winter. We had no contact with anyone for three to four months in the monsoon." The tradition of taking buffaloes to mobile herds in grazing areas such as Khamla, Khara, Bagar, Jeltung, Naura, Chaurvan, Kunavan, Machani, Davdave, Mairevan, Bhaisikharka, and Jirwang. Purnabahadur and Kirtabahadur shared their experience that buffaloes would reach the 'buki' at an altitude of five thousand meters for grazing as they could find nutritious grass. With about twenty buffaloes, 10 to 15 calves and about 200 liters of ghee used to be sold annually. The genetic source of the Limi and Parikote breeds of buffaloes raised by the farmers in this region is at risk of extinction along with the mobile herds. According to Chandrakala Dahal, chief of the Animal Service Branch of Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality, the number of buffaloes in Ward No. 4 is currently 436. She said that according to the data collected annually during the full vaccination program for animals, the number of cows and buffaloes is on a declining trend. She stated that because the farmers who traditionally practice mobile herd animal husbandry have not registered their farms and insured their livestock, it is difficult to include them in subsidy programs even though vaccines against various epidemic diseases are provided. Resham Punmagar, Vice-Chairman of Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality, informed that efforts are being made to include farmers in programs according to their needs by discussing with them to modernize and manage the mobile herds. He mentioned that materials such as tarpaulins and solar panels have been provided for the mobile herds, and if the mobile herds can be operated in a well-managed manner in a different way, there is potential for job creation and increased income generation.