TERAI

The Enhanced Rural AI (TERAI) Project for Smallholder Dairy Farmers in Nepal will run from 2022 – 2026 and will work with smallholder farmers  in four local governments of Rupendehi and Kapilvastu districts. It is funded by Jersey Overseas Aid and implemented by ADRA Nepal in partnership with Forum for Rural Welfare and Agricultural Reform for Development (FORWARD Nepal) and Indreni Rural Development Centre. 

It aims to reduce poverty and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers through increased income and resilience dairy farming. The project will directly benefit 3,600 farmers and over 17000 people indirectly by enhancing farming practices (health care, breed, nutrition and housing management of animals) and techniques to improve milk output, collection and processing as well as improving business and connecting them to the actors of milk value chain and markets. In addition to this, the project will improve the breed of dairy cows and buffalo on a local and national level through the introduction of Jersey cattle embryos into surrogate cows at the National Livestock Breeding Office (NLBO) bull mother farm and sexed jersey cattle semen and unsexed Murrah buffalo semen for use in the project target areas. The project will also pilot a Dairy Livestock Management and Information System (MIS) software platform InterHerd⁺ developed by PAN Livestock Services of the University of Reading, UK.

Main Activities

1. Identification and formation of Farmers groups and cooperatives in close coordination and consultation with Local Government.
2. Capacity building of farmers groups and cooperatives on group and cooperative management, saving and credit mobilization.
3. Farmers capacity building on breed improvement, external and internal parasite control, improved and balanced feed preparation, nutritious fodder and forage promotion, improved animal housing.
4. Farmers capacity strengthening on heat detection and hygienic milk production.
5. Importation of high genetic merit embryo of Jersey cattle and
6. Generation of infertility management technology in collaboration with Agriculture and Forestry University
7. Fertility testing of Artificial Inseminated cattle and buffaloes and nutritious fodder and forage technology transfer in collaboration with Nepal Agriculture Research Council and National Cattle Research Program.
8. Importing of Embryos and transfer into surrogate cows at the National Livestock Breeding Office (NLBO) bull mother farm.
9. Introduction of sexed jersey semen and unsexed Murrah semen for use in the project target areas.
10. Piloting a Dairy Livestock Management and Information System (MIS) software platform InterHerd+ developed by PAN Livestock Services of the University of Reading, UK.