AKIPRESS.COM - The movement "New cooperatives — prosperous livestock breeders" has started in Mongolia, united farms will receive free land and loans at low interest rates, TASS reports, citing head of the administration of the Mongolian government and the movement's initiator Dashzegve Amarbayasgalan.

"Livestock owners can voluntarily create cooperatives that will receive a loan of 20-50 million tugriks (about $6,000-15,000) with an annual rate of 6% for 3-5 years. One cooperative will own five hectares of land for free, where it is possible to conduct its own production for processing meat, leather, wool, cashmere," said the initiator of the new cooperative movement.

He added that it is increasingly difficult for people working in Mongolia's traditional nomadic animal husbandry to overcome natural disasters. The past unusually cold winter with heavy snowfalls, which caused the death of more than seven million animals, may happen again in the future.

"As the number of livestock increases, it is necessary to reform the existing industry, which is becoming poorer. Livestock breeders take loans from banks at the highest 20-24%, but live on the lowest incomes. If this continues, the cattle breeding sector will not recover, and the lives of its workers will deteriorate," Dashzegve Amarbayasgalan said.