Mashhad - A livestock breeding reform program has increased production among nomadic communities in Iran’s Razavi Khorasan Province by up to 90%, a provincial official said.

 

Mohammad Hossein Jafari, Director General of Nomadic Affairs in the province, said the program has raised breeding efficiency by about 45% through scientific feeding, genetic improvement, artificial insemination, and improved animal health.

 

He noted that lambing rates have risen from 50–60% to around 95%, while fattening efficiency has improved by 40–50%.

 

Under the program, monthly weight gain per lamb has increased to 9–10 kilograms, compared with about six kilograms previously, reducing the early sale of underweight animals, the official said.

 

Jafari said that over the past year, 1.8 trillion rials in loans have been extended to nomads and 63,000 tons of animal feed distributed.

 

He also announced plans to establish a 60,000-ton-per-year nomadic livestock feed plant in Fariman, backed by 600 billion rials in investment.

 

He warned that prolonged drought has weakened rangelands and stressed the need for stronger government and banking support to preserve existing nomadic livelihoods.

 

Razavi Khorasan is home to about 34,000 nomads in 8,200 households, managing 936,000 livestock and accounting for 15% of the province’s meat production.