The Swiss Cooperation in Mongolia joined hands through the Green Gold Animal Health Project with Mongolian partners, Ministries, government implementing organizations, herders, herders’ organizations and private sector stakeholders to contribute to responsible and sustainable management of Mongolian rangelands-“Green Gold” of Mongolia. After 17 years of journey of cooperation and collective effort, Swiss Cooperation in Mongolia is very pleased to share the main results and experiences of the Green Gold Animal Health Project. This time, we would like to present the results, lesson learned and experiences on the journey to develop and strengthen the national rangeland health monitoring and assessment system: “Mongolia is enabled to make a sound diagnosis of the national rangeland health and resilient carrying capacity”.

The agriculture sector is of great importance to the economy of Mongolia, and its share of national GDP of the country exceeds 12% as of 2020. In particular, the livestock and animal husbandry sector produces more than 80% of gross agricultural production and is the only source of income for more than 34% of all households.

Switzerland is helping Mongolia in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In view of the health situation in Mongolia, and in response to the request for assistance made by the Government of Mongolia, the Swiss Humanitarian Aid has decided to support this country in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The HU" expressed to support the “Responsible Nomads” standard for sustainable nomadic livestock production and its e traceability system. The system was developed with the support from Green Gold and Animal Health Project of the Swiss Cooperation in Mongolia and Ministry of Food Agriculture and Light Industry and managed by the National Federation of PUGs of Herders.

NFPUG organized the training to develop 2019 Pastureland photo monitoring maps and integrate the results into a unified system. The training will allow participants to process 2019 Pasture Photomonitoring images in Sample Point software and identify pasture plants at the farm group level. The training was provided on how to enter digital data into the ALAMGAC Web system. Herders uploaded the 2019 news on the agency's server through the Web system. Through this training, the quality of photo monitor data processing was improved, and the ability to evaluate and report the results using pastureland change models was acquired.

Collective Code of Practices for Sustainable Nomadic Livestock Production has been approved as a National Standard in Mongolia

The Mongolian national federation of pasture user groups organized an online training on "Importance of livestock tax in livestock breeding and pasture management".

A total of 15 herder households in Tusgalt, Naran, Bumbat, and Bayankhairkhan PUG's in Chuluut soum, Arkhangai aimag, implemented a small grow green fodder on winter camp manure with the support of the PHC project. Within the project framework, herders planted green fodder on a total area of 2.1 hectares, and about 6 tons of hay was prepared. A total investment of 1 million MNT was required to implement the project, which was implemented jointly by the GGAHP project and herders.

In June-October 2020, a project to plant fodder in manure was implemented in the Pasture Users section of Mukhar Elged, Erdene-Uul bagh, Jargalant soum, Arkhangai aimag. As part of the project, herders from the PUgs rehabilitated the fences around the winter camp area, protected them from livestock, and planted green fodder by hand-plowing and spraying in the manure area winter camp. A total of 13 households planted about 1.9 hectares of green fodder and prepared about 7.5 tons of hay, which required a total investment of 1 million MNT to implement the project funded by the GGAHP.

A total of 12 herder households in Bayangol PUG, Undur-Ulaan soum, Arkhangai aimag planted green fodder in the manure yard near the winter and spring camps. A total of 2.5 hectares of fodder was planted, and a total of 8 tons of green hay was harvested. A total of 1 million MNT was required to implement the project funded by the GGAHP project and herders.

In recent years, there has been a growing market trend for animal raw materials, especially wool and cashmere products, to produce environmentally friendly and animal-friendly products. This situation is likely to deepen in the future. It is the "duty" of our herders, producers, governmental and non-governmental organizations to respond wisely to consumers' needs and requirements.

In 2020, 2244 people were trained in the field of cooperatives, of which 1155 participants or 51 percent were men and 1089 people or 49 percent were women.

Commodity Cooperatives In 2020, The Mongolian National Federation of Pasture User Groups (NFPUG) produced 36.7 tons of yak wool, 11.4 tons of camel wool, 726 tons of sheep wool, 30 tons of goat cashmere, and 49,100 head of cattle. In addition, 11,424 pieces of leather, barley flour, and other products were supplied to the domestic market, making a sales of 5.4 billion MNT.

The "All Members Meeting" of Green Gold Finance SCC was organized at the headquarters of the Mongolian national federation of Pasture user groups / March 18, 2021 /. Participants participated in the plenary session, both online and offline, and discussed six main issues. Specifically, Green Gold Finance SCC's annual report for 2020, the Supervisory Board report oversaw the report, dividends, allocation of assets, re-election of members of the Board of Directors, amendments to the charter's approval 2021 action plan, and budget.

On March 16, 2021, the government, herders, herder cooperatives, pasture users, wool and cashmere manufacturers, and project implementers met to create the activities of stakeholders in the development of environmentally friendly and sustainable cashmere production.