Shimla: A new partnership between the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Kinnaur District Cooperative Marketing & Consumer Federation Ltd. (KINFED) is set to create a major institutional market for livestock producers in Himachal Pradesh, with the potential to generate an annual economic opportunity of around ₹9 crore.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the ITBP and KINFED was signed here today for the local procurement and supply of quality Pahadi sheep and goat meat to ITBP personnel deployed in remote and border areas.
Initially, the cooperative sector is expected to meet around 10 per cent of the ITBP’s total meat requirement, creating an estimated annual economic opportunity of approximately ₹90 lakh for the local cooperative ecosystem. The arrangement could subsequently be expanded to cover the entire requirement, taking the potential annual economic value of the initiative to around ₹9 crore.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sukhu said the initiative marked an important step towards ensuring the welfare of ITBP personnel while establishing sustainable economic linkages with communities living in border areas.
He said the agreement would ensure the regular availability of safe, quality and hygienically processed sheep and goat meat for ITBP personnel. At the same time, local livestock producers would gain access to a dependable institutional market through the cooperative sector.
The Chief Minister said the initiative would give a boost to economic activity and strengthen livelihoods in border villages. It would also further strengthen the bond between the ITBP and communities residing along the state’s border areas.
Sukhu said the MoU had been conceived as a broader platform for local procurement and would be progressively expanded in a phased manner. Besides meat, the initiative could include locally produced items such as eggs, poultry, fresh vegetables, trout and other suitable local produce.
Such an expansion, he said, would provide assured institutional markets to local farmers, livestock producers and cooperatives, while generating additional livelihood opportunities in rural and border areas.
The initiative is expected to strengthen Himachal Pradesh’s cooperative ecosystem and create a sustainable supply chain connecting local producers with one of the country’s key border security forces.
