State Policy on Herders.

This document sets out the State Policy on Herders. It aims to improve herders’ livelihoods by increasing employment, integrating them into social insurance systems, enhancing their health and social protection, and upgrading their knowledge and skills. The policy is framed within Mongolia’s Constitution and key national development and sectoral strategies, as well as international instruments on environment, development, desertification, food security and poverty reduction. Its overarching goal is to raise the income and living standards of herder households by developing herders themselves, while ensuring risk resilient and sustainable development of livestock production. The policy is guided by principles of human rights, democracy, justice, equality and rule of law; support tailored to the economic capacity and interests of herder households; introduction and localization of advanced technologies and methods; support for primary level representation and protection of herders’ interests; and preservation and development of traditional and modern pasture based livestock practices and culture. Three main policy directions are defined: (a) creating a favourable legal, economic and business environment to enable herders to live and work comfortably in rural areas and avoid poverty, with labour and social protection guarantees; (b) improving the organization, productivity, quality and efficiency of livestock production and establishing effective marketing systems; and (c) fostering self help and self governance structures among herders, upgrading education and skills, providing special vocational training, and improving access to health services to change living habits and practices. For each direction, detailed strategic objectives and measures are listed. These include securing adequate land for intensive and pasture based livestock, establishing otor (reserve) areas and pasture use councils, revising tax and pasture use fee regimes, creating risk and pasture protection funds, expanding livestock and property insurance and access to finance, and promoting diversification of herder household income. The policy calls for strengthening herders’ groups, cooperatives and partnerships, supporting value added processing of animal products, improving standards and primary processing infrastructure at soum level, and enhancing water supply, feed production, machinery services and housing programs for herders. It also mandates measures on animal health and breeding, including eradication of major transboundary and zoonotic diseases to facilitate export. In the social sphere, it provides for building multi level herders’ organizations, integrating them into national and international projects, establishing information systems, improving rural health services and regular medical check ups, and expanding formal, non formal and distance education for herders and their children. The policy sets two implementation phases (2009–2015 and 2016–2020) with quantitative targets for income growth and social insurance coverage, allocates at least 1% of the state budget to implementation, and assigns responsibilities across central ministries and local governments.