The Article on Poultry farming, for Dr.GL Jain excellence Award

 When considering the past, present, and future status of poultry farming in India, we have to bow to the hard work that rendered for the improvement of Genetic capacity of the Layers and Broilers in liveability, higher production, lower feed consumption and acclimatisation to the local climates and atmospheres by well-known scientist Sri Dr GL Jain sir.

This was possible to Dr.GL Jain and team members, only because the employers M/S Venkateshwara Hatcheries Private Limited, Pune who were having not only the strong fashion and fore look on the poultry industry. They were and are instrumental to bring the sustainability of poultry farming in India by taking all the measures in bringing the renewed scientific knowledge, genetics, technologies, and infrastructure. The continuous best performances for decades by breeds developed by them is the monumental for their hard work and commitment. The breeds evaluated by them are giving highest number of eggs and early cropping of chicken. They have been continuously improving the geniting selection for high yield, better liveability, better feed conversion, and for improved resistance or immunity to with stand to all climates and diseases. Thus their R&D is putting continuous efforts to rectify and improve if any draw backs or defects are there in the field by getting feed back from all over India.

Everything was looking smooth going until 2018, but after the appearance Corona disease in 2019 the poultry farming in India was compelled to undergo so many ups and downs with respect to selling markets of Eggs, and Chicken. Unfortunately, then onwards the agricultural crops like Maize, Soya etc have taken negative yields than the required quantities for Poultry Industry resulting in increase of cost of feed raw materials. With the result cost productions of Chicken and Eggs in India has gone up tremendously, making the producers to incur losses very heavily and the farming became an unprofitable business.

India being an agricultural country many rural farmers have chosen the poultry farming as their alternative business profession for their survival. But because of the recent upset in poultry farming many marginal and small farmers are forced to incur losses and large number have left the poultry farming.

This situation is continuing. Because of the average person’s purchasing capacity of Eggs and Chicken mainly in rural areas is below the average poverty line, the consumptions are not increasing. The average egg consumption of Chicken per head in India is far better than the Eggs. The focus must be staled at Egg industry in India. It is just like a sinking boat. The market for eggs is experiencing very undulated ups and downs. The demand for Eggs is lesser than the production. Egg being a perishable commodity its market can not be handled efficiently towards profits and sustainable farming, as in the case of vegetables.

WHY THE SITUATION OF LESS DEMAND FOR EGGS:

Though the eggs per capita consumption is around 90 eggs per head in rural areas and around 120> is in urban areas, the recent increase of productions all over India is making the markets unviable in sales.

Before 2018 in India there was a demarcation of production centre and consumption centre. The southern parts of India like A.P, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Part of Kerala, and Maharastra (Parts) and in north Barwala in Punjab were only the production centres. For example, since the emergence of NECC a farmer’s body emerged in 1982 the NECC by the farmers was advising to keep Egg rates in production centres as per the demand and their geological state. Likewise there was clarity in fixing the Egg’s selling rates in Consumption centres like Cities Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, other cities like Ranchi, Patna, Assam, Siliguri and northeastern cities, Barwala eggs were catering the demand of Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi etc by considering the sellers opinion, their transport charges, expenditure, their commission, demand and eggs life and quality.

Now the entire scenario changed. The state governments of Bengal, Bihar, UP, and MP have launched the farmers beneficial, self-earning, Poultry farming of Egg Layers, with subsidies. Small to big producing farms in main consumption centres started producing Eggs that are partly self sufficient for their demands. Earlier there was clear cut nomenclature for production and consumption centre for example Eggs produced in Hyderabad and Telangana have to be marketed in Mumbai with fixed difference of producing cost and selling price, like wise AP eggs production rate and Bengal Kolkota selling rates were fixed with understanding and trade conveniences. Now the eggs from South, going to be marketed in Bengal, UP, MP, Bihar etc seized because of their own productions. Now in South the egg productions have increased considerably to almost 25% especially in Namakkal.

Hyderabad, AP and Parts of Karnataka. The existing markets for eggs are not able to absorb all the excessive eggs produced than the demand. How to bring the demand is the biggest question to all intelligent persons of industry, who is going to regulate the productions in all over India, would it be done by private or govt bodies. Poultry in India grown autonomously in private sector, all these days there was no assistance or interference by any governments. Now it is the interesting thing how poultry can be handled by the central government, because there is no separate department for poultry as is for Animals (Dairy cattle, sheep, and goats) and Fisheries. The significance of poultry profits or losses are not going to disturb the Bharat government. There is no proper representation from the farmers side because it was not practiced earlier. So profitable poultry farming will continue in eggs by keeping the control over the productions, maintaining the proper statistics, increasing the sales can be done by continuous egg consumption promotions, regulating the eggs production both by quality and quantity.

Recently I have seen the regulations in production of Chicken and Eggs in countries like Australia, UK, and Holland. There are strict legislations in Government rules for starting and expanding their capacities of a poultry farm.

Certain measures to be adopted for overcoming the present excessive production are .

1. Gathering the existing population statistics,

2. Area wise productions and consumption

3. If further expansion is going to happen anywhere it should be regulated as per the local and central bodies which monitor the population.

4. The replacements of the flocks must be regulated as per the demand of produce and as per the availability of the raw materials.

5. Every poultry farmer should have the minimum marketing conditions, rates, and opportunities to the produce in different markets.

Apart from the measures for overcoming the rates of produce the other important factors that have to be considered for safeguarding the poultry farming industry are,

1. There is a need of forming area wise societies to sell the eggs and chicken through a single window system to control the markets efficiently.

2. As overall managemental practices in farms are seizing in many areas, to overcome the problem each area has to be monitored by experienced veterinarians from any source to minimize the losses, improving all efficiencies in keeping the quality of produce and in controlling the diseases.

3. Perfect trained persons must be deployed for undertaking the vaccinations efficiently.

4. Strict biosecurity measures must be undertaken in prevention of deadly viral diseases like ND, IB, ILTV, and AIV.

5.From government side there should be facilities of either importing the AI vaccines or permissions must be liberalised for manufacturing the vaccines which are not available in present time.

6. Both government, para government, or private sector bodies should take up the promotional campaigns for increased consumption of Eggs.

7.Future is going to be for frozen chicken consumptions. Packed foods and snacks will be attracting more the consumers in cities.

8. Special drives must be arranged by governments to increase the availability of cheaply available protein sources like eggs and chicken to overcome malnutrition and protein deficiency in different age group people especially the children.

9. The poultry farmers, veterinarians, government agencies, hatcheries and the traders or sellers have to sit in one place to form governing bodies or mission to monitor the above points.

Finally, I want to write that we have enough genetically improved breeds for better performances and high productions. But we have to extract that potentiality with better management technology, better nutrition adoption, better improved scientific knowledge in marketing, disease control and housing. We must change according to the need of hour, we can not progress with old methods, old technology, old 30- 40 years back infra structure. Our approach with the government has to be more pronounced, we should lobby with them for all kinds of help for liberalising the policies of import of vaccines, infrastructure materials, medicines if any, and the required feed materials. Also, the should stop exporting policies for the essential feed ingredients.

With all my 45 years of poultry feed experience I have written this article, without copying any figures or statistics. If I do that, I can give 4000 words minimum article. I can proudly say that because of availability of those breeds for laying and breeds for broilers, I could serve the farmers, hatcheries, and breeders with full confidence. I used to get good response for any kind of treatment for any disease, for any kind of change in the nutrition they responded well as per our need. I am thankful for all the existing breed developers for giving wonderful highly selected potential genetical breeds with which we are all progressing. Farmers of late are neglecting the better management practices as they are not getting good returns, but the bad management, negligence will further push them in to more awkward situation and into heavy losses.

SUMMARY:

1. Control of population
2. Maintaining the statistics
3. Formation of single windows and cooperative
4. Approaching the governments for their involvement when ever needed, for all kind of raw material provisions, imports and
5. Small organisations with single window should have the better communication and coordination with all other groups and with all other existing committees.
6. Improvement in management of farms and Production of clean and neat eggs with good eggshell
7. Production of antibiotic free, clean, and safe
8. Quality nutrition and cleanliness of premises have to be Because of the manual labour shortage people are neglecting the cleanliness.
9. keeping the farms as per the environment control bodies suggestion to avoid the social problems and
10. Interstate communication and cooperation has to be enhanced for the better
11. A scientific technologically sound operations in all level of marketing, management and
12. Always following the veterinarians advice will help in peaceful
13. Following improvised nutrition in cutting down waste cost on extra feed consumptions.
14. Ensuring the technically sound vaccination procedures to minimize
15. .Keeping a greater number of sales openings by farmers in all consumption centres, which will be maintained by the society secretory, or group
16. .Maximum efforts have to be put in egg consumption
17. .In odd seasons eggs have to be sold in controlled number to the markets as per demand only. The excessive eggs may either be given to military or school children at subsidized
18. .Making use of the cold storages when ever there is no demand for eggs. The losses and profits have to be shared by the members of group
19. .More number of poultry laboratories have to come into existence in every thickly populated area for full pledged
20. .MRP rates only should be notified in all medias for
21. .We have to try to bring more new egg traders into the
22. .Least is mentioned about the chicken which is fast developing one with good The all methods are applicable to chicken also except in marketing.

This is all about my article on poultry on present situation of crisis.

Thank you and with regards,

Dr. Srinivasa Rao Ramaraju,

B.V.Sc, PGDMM, MBA (executive), AI & ML

Poultry consultant, Hyderabad,

+91 9901780888,

rsrhpt@gmail.com.

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