Poultry Farming (Silver Revolution) in India – UPSC

In this article, You will read Poultry Farming (Silver Revolution) in India – for UPSC IAS.

Poultry Farming

• Poultry farming is the practice of raising poultry, such as chickens, turkey, ducks, geese, as a subcategory of animal husbandry, for the purpose of farming meat or eggs for food.
• It requires small capital and provides small income and job opportunity for large number of rural population in the shortest possible time
• The vast majority of poultry are farmed using factory farming techniques. According to World Watch Institute, 75% of the world’s poultry meat, and 70% of eggs are produced in this way.
• Domestic birds (both layer and boiler) kept by human in a shed for eggs they produce, their meat, their feathers.

Scope And Strengths

• Indian poultry industry is booming and emerging as the world’s second largest market.
• India is world’s third largest egg producer and fifth largest meat producer.
• Meat industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India as compared to other industries.
• Meat is the cheapest source of protein in India which is affordable by masses.
• Egg and meat accounts for 75% of non vegetarian food consumption in India.
• Poultry industry provides employment to large chunk of rural masses in India.
• Cost of production of poultry products is less in India as compared to the other countries in the world.

Constituents

Per Capita Consumption

Per Capita Production In India

Chicken Advantage And Disadvantages

Sector and Size of Poultry Industry in India

Growth Rate of The Poultry Industry

• The annual growth rate is 8-10% in egg and 12-15% in the broiler industry.
• Annual production in Poultry industry is 33 billion eggs and 530 million broilers per year.
• Per capita consumption in the sector is 57 eggs and 3.8 kg chicken.

Major Companies of Layer And Broiler

• Some of the major players in field of layer and broiler industry are Venkateshwar Group, Pune; Suguna Poultry Farms Ltd., Coimbatore; Pioneer Poultry Group, Coimbatore; Godrej Agrover Ltd., Mumbai; Sky Lark Group.

Vertically Integrated Poultry Farm

• Vertical integration of the broiler industry allows producers to combine different bio-security and sanitation practices, housing technologies and feeding regimens to improve food safety. This structure allows greater governance over each aspect of food safety from the breeder farm to the hatchery through the processing plant.
• Vertical integration allows the industry to maintain strict bio-security measures, vaccination programs and testing for bacteria such as Salmonella at breeder farms and hatcheries.
• In the feed mill, feed is frequently heat-treated to prevent the spread of any bacteria between the feed and the birds. At the grow out house, strict bio-security measures, pest management control and the “all in all out” concept controls the spread of disease between the birds, houses and flocks
• Once the birds are removed from the growout houses, they are promptly delivered to the processing plant where strict testing regimes are in place throughout the plant to minimize the spread of bacteria.
• Strict records are maintained and steam lined throughout the entire process regarding testing results, vaccination schedules, bio-security and sanitation protocols.

Research and Development

• The research and development in poultry sector includes the innovative works on bird’s diet (nutritional feed), disease management, and overall health, effective water sanitation, temperature, ventilation, lightening and floor management.

Export Performance and Revenue Generation

• The country has exported 5,56,698.80 MT of poultry products to the world for the worth of Rs 651.21 crores during the year 2014-15
• The major export destinations are (2014-15): Oman, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

Issue and Challenges

• Water (in quality and quantity) and electricity is major concern in rural areas.
• Conventional cages are source of major concern as they are unhygienic and unscientific way of keeping the species.
• The cost of feed in poultry sector is high e.g. corn and soybean.
• High disease outbreaks e.g. bird flu, Ranikhet etc.
• Problem of proper cold store facility.
• Lack of awareness on proper animal nutrition and health practices among farmers.
• Per capita consumption of eggs and meat should rise as per National Institute of Nutrition.
• Food processing and value addition should improve in undeveloped rural area.

Poultry Farming in India

• The largest number of poultry population is in Andhra Pradesh followed by Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.
• Most of important poultry farms are being developed around almost all the important urban centres like Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Nagpur, Shimla, Bhubhaneshawar, Ajmer, Chandigarh and Bhopal.
• Uninterrupted supply of feeds as well as protection from avian influenza is critical for the continued robust growth of poultry sector.
• The first outbreak of avian influenza occurred in India in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra on 8th Feb 2005. The Government of India initiated immediate steps to control and contain the outbreak.
• The Central Poultry Development Organization has been playing a pivotal role in the implementation of the policies of the Government with respect to poultry as a tool for alleviating nutritional hunger and palliating the impecuniosities of the resource – poor farmers, especially the women.
• The mandate of the Central Poultry Development Organisation has been specifically revised, by restructuring all poultry units of this Department to focus on improved indigenous birds, which lay on an average 180-200 eggs per annum and have a vastly improved FCR ratio in terms of feed consumption and weight gain.
• The Central Poultry Development Organisations have been entrusted with the responsibility of producing excellent germplasm in the form of lay-old chicks and hatching eggs of these varieties like. Hitkari, Vanaraja, Shyama, Cari, etc. Besides, these organisations are also playing a crucial role in analysing feed samples.
• These Organisations, besides conducting the activities stated above, also work for scaling – up of diversification of other avian species like Duks/Turkeys/Guinea fowl/Japanese Quail, and upgrading of Training unit into International Tropical Avian Management Institutes in which private – public partnership is envisaged. Presently these Organisations are also supporting and hand – holding the Centrally-sponsored schemes related to assistance to state poultry farms.
• A new centrally sponsored scheme called Assistance to State Poultry, is being implemented during the Tenth Plan where one time assistance is providing to suitably strengthen the farms in terms of hatching, brooding, and rearing of birds with provision for feed mill and their quality monitoring and in-house disease diagnostic facilities.
• A new scheme, Dairy/Poultry Venture Capital Fund, has been launched during the 2004-05. Wherein there is a provision to grant subsidy on interest payment.
• The nodal agency for the implementation of this scheme is NABARD through nationalised commercial bank. In 2005-06, a total of 49 poultry units involving Rs 2.17 crore were approved.