ULAN BATOR, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Mongolian government on Wednesday decided to distribute livestock feed among herder households in several provinces to help them overcome extreme wintry weather, known as "dzud."
"Dzud" is a Mongolian term to describe the frigid winter that comes after a dry summer and causes the death of a great number of livestock due to starvation or cold weather.
"Currently, snowfall has covered 50 percent of our country. At least 72 soums (administrative subdivision) in 10 provinces are expected to experience severe winter and spring," Deputy Prime Minister Yangu Sodbaatar said at a press conference.
"Therefore, the government decided to provide the livestock feed support to herders to help them overcome the harsh weather conditions," said Sodbaatar.
A total of 3,800 tons of hay will be distributed to herder households in these provinces free of charge, and 1,900 tons of fodder will be provided in the provinces at discounted prices.
Mongolia is one of the last nomadic countries in the world. The Asian country has more than 230,000 herder households, and the number of livestock animals has surpassed 70 million, according to official data.
Overcoming dzud is one of the biggest challenges for Mongolian herders.
Thousands of herders lose their animals almost every year due to dzud. In 2016, more than 1 million animals died from the extreme weather conditions. Enditem
