Every time Najeeb Kurikandi flew back to work in Abu Dhabi after his annual vacation, he left behind a dream that he had been cherishing since childhood.
Now the 35-year-old is slowly realising his dream to set up a mixed farming project at his home-town at Meppayur, about 40 km from Kozhikode city. The COVID-19-induced lockdown has helped him start out with rearing male buffalo calves.
“The travel restrictions that came into force from March held me back. So I decided this was the chance to pursue my passion and purchased six buffalo calves three months ago and began rearing them,” Mr. Najeeb, a driver in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the past 13 years, said.
For Gulf returnees who are dealing with the spectre of job losses, livestock farming is seen as an opportunity to earn a livelihood back home. Several others, such as Rafeek and Chandran who face the threat of losing their jobs in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations have turned to this vocation.
A majority of the returnees are betting on buffalo farming for multiple reasons, including climate adaptability and minimal expense involved. “Male buffalo calves are reared exclusively for meat. The calves can be easily fed with green fodder. Besides, no big infrastructure is required to accommodate them. Just a shed will do. And they are mostly disease-free and the mortality rate is less,” said Aji Manathara, a returnee from Saudi Arabia.
Rearing male buffalo calves can boost the income of farmers. A six-month-old buffalo calf normally weighs around 100 kg and the price is calculated at the rate of ₹110 per kg. These are sold after the calf grows to 400 kg-500 kg in two years. “Depending on its weight, a buffalo is sold either to local butchers or slaughter houses at between ₹40,000 and ₹50,000,” he said.
Help at hand
The Wayanad-based Brahmagiri Development Society, a government-supported cooperative, is helping new farmers procure male calves from Andhra Pradesh. It has been supplying the Murrah buffalo, a breed from Punjab and Haryana, to the farmers in north Kerala.
K. Abhinand, a livestock inspector with the society, said that about 600 people had bought male buffalo calves this year. “And 60% of them are expatriates, especially from the Gulf region. We have supplied 2,000 male calves in Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, and Kannur over the last few months. We also get enquiries from Kottayam and Palakkad,” he said.
The calves are supplied after vaccinations and de-worming. “To eliminate exploitation by middlemen, we are guaranteeing a buyback of the animals at a reasonable rate for our frozen meat market functioning under the Malabar Meat brand,” Mr. Abhinand said.
