Qinghai launches traceability program for origins of yaks and Tibetan sheep

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Qinghai Province, a traceability program for origins of yaks and Tibetan sheep has been launched to build a model that products information can be searched, origins can be traced and trust between producers and consumers can be established. 

The program covers 961 ecological animal husbandry cooperatives and 610 yak and sheep farms among the 39 counties of the province, and with origins of commercial yaks and Tibetan sheep traced annually.

The program will first start this year in the 10 counties of six prefectures including Hainan, Haibei, Huangnan, Guoluo, Yushu, and Haixi, with 2.1 million commercial yaks and Tibetan sheep involved.

Ma Qingde, the vice director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural affairs of Qinghai Province, said by building this traceable program for yaks and Tibetan sheep, it will promote yak and Tibetan sheep specialty products to enter the middle and high-end market.

Qinghai Province is one of China's five major pasturing areas, and yaks and Tibetan sheep are the most numerous among all livestock it raises. Known as "World Yak Capital", the province's yak number on hand is 4.81 million, which accounts for one-third of the world's total.