Innovative Technology & Practices Transforming India’s Poultry farming Sector
- N. Singh1*, Ranjana Sinha2, G.D. Singh2, Mamta3, Ajay Kumar3, Rajneesh Sirohi3, Yajuvendra Singh3, Suchit Kumar2, Manmohan Kumar2
1* Associate Professor, Bihar Veterinary College, Patna-800 014
2* Assistant Professor, Bihar Veterinary College, Patna-800 014
3* Assistant Professor, College of Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry, DUVASU, Mathura-281001
Introduction
The word poultry applies to all domestic fowl raised for their eggs, their meat, or both. Poultry includes chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, pheasants, quail and pigeons. Chickens by far are the most popular poultry raised today, and this manual will concentrate on them. The first chickens (probably the species Gallus gallus) were lured or captured from the rain forests of Southwest Asia over 3,000 years ago. Since that time, chickens have been kept for meat and eggs by nearly every human group throughout the world. Over the years, the original chicken has been bred by selection and circumstance into many varieties.
Poultry is one of the fastest growing segments of the agricultural sector in India today. While the production of agricultural crops has been rising at a rate of 1.5 to 2 percent per annum, that of eggs and broilers has been rising at a rate of approximately 8 to 10 percent per annum. As a result, India is now the world’s third largest egg producer and the eighth largest producer of broilers. Driving this expansion are a combination of factors – growth in per capita income, a growing urban population and falling real poultry prices. In the past 40 years, the growing need for protein to feed the world’s rapidly expanding population has caused farmers and scientists to pay more attention to chickens as food sources, ant to increase the efficiency with which they are raised. Genetic research has developed many different breeds and varieties adapted to different climates, farming methods and purposes.
Poultry Development and Constraints in India
Most of India’s poultry development has happened in the past 20-25 years. A country with minimal cereal grain resources, India faced many other problems as well. Many farmers could not afford even a small backyard poultry operation. The vast majority of Indians are vegetarians. There were transport problems, and difficulties with feed and medical supplies. Extension personnel were few, and though some were dedicated, others were not. Most areas had no poultry feed analysis laboratories. All viable improved breeds (breeds in which a high percentage of chicks live and turn into good producers) were being imported, usually through multinational corporations. Farmers were accustomed to traditional ways of raising chickens and were reluctant to change to new methods until they were proven.
The poultry sector in India has undergone a paradigm shift in structure and operation. A significant feature of India’s poultry industry has been its transformation from a mere backyard activity into a major commercial activity in just about four decades. This transformation has involved sizeable investments in breeding, hatching, rearing and processing. Farmers in India have moved from rearing non-descript birds to today rearing hybrids such as is Hyaline, it is Shaver, II and in Babcock, it which ensure faster growth, good liveability, excellent feed conversion and high profits to the rearers. The industry has grown largely due to the initiative of private enterprise, minimal government intervention, considerable indigenous poultry genetics capabilities, and considerable support from the complementary veterinary health, poultry feed, poultry equipment, and poultry processing sectors. India is one of the few countries in the world that has put into place a sustained Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) egg production project.
Structure of the Poultry Industry in India
The structure of India’s poultry industry varies from region to region. While independent and relatively small-scale producers account for the bulk of production, integrated large-scale producers do account for a growing share of output in some regions. Integrators include large regional firms that incorporate all aspects of production, including the raising of grandparent and parent flocks, rearing DOCs, contracting production, compounding feed, providing veterinary services, and wholesaling.
Regional Variation in Poultry Development
Another important aspect of poultry development in India is the significant variation in the industry across regions. The four southern states – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu – account for about 45 percent of the country’s egg production, with a per capita consumption of 57 eggs and 0.5 kg of broiler meat, while the eastern and central regions of India account for about 20 percent of egg production, with a per capita consumption of 18 eggs and 0.13 kg of broiler meat. The northern and western regions of the country record much higher figures than the eastern and central regions with respect to per capita availability of eggs and broiler meat.
Low Per Capita Consumption
Even though India is the world’s fifth largest egg producer and the eighteenth largest producer of broilers, its per capita consumption of these products is poor – 37 eggs and 1 kg. of poultry meat per capita per annum. Here, again, there is considerable variation in per capita consumption between rural and urban areas and also across the region. Per capita consumption of eggs is only 7.7 per annum in rural areas compared with 17.8 per annum in urban areas. In seven states, per capita consumption is less than 3.5 per annum. Similarly, per capita consumption of poultry meat is 0.24 kg. in rural areas and 1.08 kg. in urban areas.
Slow Changes in Consumption Habits
An analysis of consumption data originating from National Sample Survey (NSS) rounds reveals many interesting facts. First, 42 percent of households are vegetarian in that they do not eat fish, meat or eggs. The remaining 68 percent of households are non-vegetarians. Over time there has been a gradual shift from vegetarianism to non-vegetarianism. The change is more visible in rural areas than in urban areas. For instance, between 1987-88 and 1999-2000, the proportion of households consuming only one of the three items – fish, meat or eggs – increased by only one percent in urban areas, while in rural areas this proportion increased by four percent. Second, calculation of income elasticity of demand for different commodity groups shows that the commodity group that includes meat, fish or eggs ranks second in the quantity of commodities consumed in rural areas (milk and milk products rank first), while in urban areas consumption of the meat, fish, or egg commodity group ranks third. The estimated income elasticity is 1.01 in rural areas and 0.66 in urban areas. Third, the price elasticity also follows the same order. Meat, fish or eggs have the high price elasticity of 0.75 in rural areas and 0.68 in urban areas. Fourth, estimates of income and price elasticities calculated for each of the four expenditure groups show that those elasticities tend to decline as one moves from the poor to the non-poor and the wealthy. The income elasticity is low for the wealthy – 0.5 in rural areas and 0.6 in urban areas. The other two income groups in rural areas have high-income elasticity – greater than unity. Price elasticities are greater than unity for the very poor and the poor in rural areas, and for the very poor in urban areas. A significant policy implication of these consumption habits is that there is lot of scope in raising the demand for poultry products in rural areas.
Exports of poultry products from India comprise table eggs, meat, live birds and value-added products such as egg powder and frozen yolk. The value of aggregated exports was comparatively very less than beef and carbeef. Exports were expected to reach the level of Rs. 15 billion by the year 2050.
Major Constraints on the Growth of the Poultry Industry
A major constraint affecting the growth of the poultry industry in India is the lack of basic infrastructure such as storage and transportation, including cold chain. As a result, there are wild price fluctuations in the prices of poultry products, i.e., eggs and broilers. Another constraint to growth is an inefficient marketing system. The presence of so many market intermediaries harms both the producer and the consumer. A third problem relates to the price availability of feed resources. Maize or corn plays a major role in broiler production, as it constitutes 50 to 55 percent of broiler feed. As the broiler industry is growing at the rate of 15 percent per annum, the demand for maize is thus likely to increase. Presently India grows only 11 million tonnes of maize and only 5 million tonnes are available for poultry, which is not sufficient if the current growth rate of the industry is to be maintained.
Policy Measures
The policy measures that are required to improve the poultry industry must involve: (a) improving infrastructure facilities, which will help not only to stabilize the price of poultry products in the domestic market, but will also make them available in remote areas; (b) creating an efficient marketing channel that will help provide remunerative prices to producers (in other words, India’s marketing set-up should also grow along professional lines); and (c) increasing maize production, which will involve using GM (genetically modified) seed varieties or, alternatively, will necessitate finding other sources of feed ingredients that can replace maize.
The production capacity has responded with increased integration and large scale implementation of contract poultry farming. Farmers in India have moved on from rearing country birds in the past to rearing hybrid varieties that ensure faster growth of chicks, higher eggs per bird, increased hatchability, low mortality rates, improved feed conversion ratio (FCR), and consequently more stable profits to the poultry farmers. The industry has been supported by indigenous advancements in genetic capabilities, veterinary health, poultry feed, poultry equipment, and poultry processing sectors. The productivity gains of the poultry industry are reflected in relatively lower price increases in poultry meat over the last five years compared to other meat products – Poultry WPI (wholesale price index). Key production parameters such as FCR (averaging at 1.75 – 1.80), mean age (39 – 42 days for a 1.8 – 2.1 kg bird), hatchability (80 – 87%), average hatching eggs (170+), meat yield, and mortality, have all been continuously improving for broiler breeding and commercial operations over the years. Ensuring feed availability at affordable prices remains the key concern for the poultry industry with more than 70% of production costs being in the form of feed. Maize and Soymeal forms the major proportion of poultry feed with maize contributing 55-65% and soymeal forming 25-30% of the total feed volume. India is a net exporter of both these commodities; although production gains have been limited over the last three years and prices have largely been driven by demand – supply dynamics in international markets. Maize prices, which had been on an uptrend for more than five years and had touched record highs of Rs. 16-17/kg in Q2FY14, have since moderated considerably following the arrival of a new crop but more due to a bumper harvest in key exporting countries like South America and US making domestic exports unattractive consequently increasing maize availability in domestic market.
The healthy growth in poultry output over the last decade makes India one of the fastest growing, major world market in the segments with its future growth potential remaining strong on the back of a wide gap against global per capital consumption norms and favorable socio economic factors. Sustaining profitable operations, however, will remain key concern for the industry in the near to medium-term. ICRA expect domestic broiler meat demand to continue to grow at the rate of 7-8% (value growth is expected to be higher at above 10%) and table egg demand to grow at 4-5% in long term. Its transition from a predominantly live bird/wet market to a chilled/frozen market would be crucial for the future growth of the domestic poultry industry as well as to increase presence in international trade where India currently has a negligible presence. Developing efficient distribution system with large investments in cold chain infrastructure, and increasing the market acceptability of frozen chicken are going to be the key industry drivers in the long-term for transforming the poultry industry in India.
Innovative Technology & practice transforming India’s poultry farming Sectors
