Itanagar, Feb 3: Good news for the people of Arunachal Pradesh because meat and milk products of yaks reared in high altitudes of Arunachal Pradesh may soon be sold under the banner of country’s first co-operative society comprising yak rearers.
Churpi is prepared from the milk of Arunachali yak, which is a unique yak breed found in West Kameng and Tawang districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Yak Churpi, a naturally fermented milk product made from yak milk, has been given recognition as Geographical Indication (GI) of Arunachal Pradesh.
Altogether 17 yak rearers recently formed the co-operative society named Arunachal Pradesh Yak Herders and Products Development Cooperative Society Limited. It was formed under the aegis of National Research Centre on Yaks (NRCY), situated atop 5, 000 feet at Dirang in Arunachal Pradesh.
The initiative to form the co-operative society was taken months after yak churpi got GI tag and the yak meat was accepted as a food item by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Dr Mihir Sarkar, Director of ICAR- National Research Centre on Yak, said it is a major boost to the pastoral production systems and yak rearing in the country.
Churpi is an excellent source of proteins and is frequently used as a substitute for vegetables by tribal yak herders in the vegetation-starved cold and hilly mountainous regions of the state.
Arunachali yak breed is reared by tribal yak pastoralists known as Brokpas who migrate along with their yaks to higher reaches (at an altitude of 10,000 ft and higher) during summers and descent to mid-altitude mountainous regions during winters.
Since the product is prepared at such a high altitude, it is also expected to provide benefits to the tribal herders against cold and hypoxia besides providing enriched nutrition, Dr Vijay Paul, Principal Scientist of NRC-Yak who was associated with the GI application process, informed.
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