Livelihood through Backyard Poultry Farming
Hina Ashraf Waiz *1 and Lokesh Gautam 2
1Assistant Professor ,Livestock Production Management, College of veterinary & Animal Science, Udaipur, Rajasthan University of Veterinary & Animal Science, Bikaner, 334001, India
2Assistant Professor ,Animal Genetics and Breeding , College of veterinary & Animal Science, Udaipur, Rajasthan University of Veterinary & Animal Science, Bikaner, 334001, India
*Corresponding Author: drhinavet@gmail.com ,
Abstract
In rural places, poultry farming is a significant source of income and food security. Poor farmers’ economic development is significantly aided by backyard poultry rearing. The potential for producing healthy, stress-free, and residue-free birds in backyard poultry farming is enormous. In rural areas, farmers typically keep backyard hens for revenue generation, domestic use, gifts, and hospitality. In order to reduce protein deficiency, backyard poultry is an important way to improve the variety of protein-rich foods available in rural areas. This can be done by implementing backyard poultry farming on a small scale or by raising them in small numbers under intensive farm conditions using locally available materials, less expensive feed and housing inputs.
Keywords: backyard poultry, livelihood, poultry farming
Introduction
The rural chicken varieties have unique qualities in terms of both qualitative and quantitative traits, including lean body weights, longer shanks, relatively higher immune competence, and hardiness. These qualities include multi-coloured plumage patterns, meat quality, majestic gait and appearance, and multi-coloured feather patterns. Through selection in the parent lines of these kinds, key characteristics such shank length, egg production, and immunological competence have been further improved over time.A dual-purpose chicken variety was eventually developed and made available to farmers in 1999 by the ICAR-Directorate of Poultry Research, Hyderabad and a prestigious organisation operating under the auspices of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The research on the development of chicken varieties suitable for BYPF was first started in 1992. The backyard poultry farming concept in India has been changed by Vanaraja as a result of the farmers’ acceptance of the birds in various agro-climatic regions around the nation (Ullengala et al. 2021). Subsequently, Pratapdhan a dual purpose breed was developed by the All India Coordinated Research Project on Poultry Breeding at the Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture & Technology, Udaipur. Its morphology is similar to the native chicken but it produces more eggs and has a heavier body weight. Backyard poultry has been supported through various development programmes by the Indian government, which has identified it as one of the promising strategies for reducing protein deficiency among rural and tribal populations.
Status
As per the 20th Livestock census (2019) total poultry population in India is 851.81 million that has been increased by 16.81% than previous census. Over 45.78% increase in backyard poultry and total backyard poultry is 317.07 million in 2019. The total commercial poultry is 534.74 million which has increased by 4.5%. Among the livestock sector poultry industry contributes about 1% of national GDP and about 14% of the livestock GDP. India ranks 3rd in egg production and 5th in meat production in the world and the per capita availability is 79 eggs and 3.12 kg chicken meat per annum. There has been a paradigm shift in the structure and operation of the poultry sector in Rajasthan .Continued efforts in the upgrading, modification and application of new technologies paved the way for multidisciplinary and multilateral development in poultry and allied sectors. Rajasthan with 56.8 million livestock population ranks second in the country. The state ranks seventeen with 14.6 million of the country’s total poultry population. The total poultry production in Udaipur is 5.04 million, (20th Livestock Census). Many impoverished and landless families, especially those headed by women who are looking for supplementary money, have been shown to depend heavily on backyard poultry as a source of revenue. Farmers’ socioeconomic circumstances prevent them from adopting new technologies, which results in low productivity and low levels of income. The introduction of backyard poultry breeds is necessary to boost the family’s income and provide the family’s security of subsistence.
Nutritional security
Backyard poultry has the potential to reduce the malnutrition in the rural areas across the world. Due to better egg production (74.19%) and male weight gain (52.38%) compared to local poultry, the rural poor families keeping Pratapdhan fowl in Rajasthan (supplied under NICRA) as backyard poultry saw both an economic uplift and an improvement in nutritional status. According to data provided by Singh et al. (2017), Pratapdhan poultry produced 161 and 56 more eggs on average year than desi chicken. For adult male and female Pratapdhan poultry, the average weight growth (kg) was 3.20 and 2.10, compared to 2.10 and 1.35 for desi poultry. The similar trends in gain in body weight of Pratapdhan over local poultry were reported by Yadav and Khan (2011).
Marketing
One of the biggest issues that rural poultry growers encounter is marketing. According to customer feedback and our own fieldwork, there is no established marketing route for the efficient disposal of eggs and chicks from backyard poultry farming. The backyard poultry farming success and viability depend heavily on marketing. Farmers will benefit from the introduction of marketing channels through self-help organisations like ‘Livelihood Pathshalas’ running in Rajasthan.
Women are being trained and educated in the aforementioned pathshalas or classrooms so they may perform business functions with ease and effectiveness. Women self-help groups are running the classroom model for other women as a form of skill-based learning, support, and empowerment.
Livelihood Pathshala success stories
The Livelihood Pathshala programme has immensely benefited many women throughout Rajasthan, and Matra Devi from Rajpura Village in Ajmer and Dhapu Bai from Choma village of Kota can be mentioned as one of the numerous success stories in this regard
With a small investment of Rs 2,500 and three months to raise 25 chicks, this woman battled her way out of a rural folk background and into the world of business. Each of these reportedly sold for 550 each. She is currently operating the third phase of her firm, with a stock that has doubled and a profit of more than 20,000 so far. This translates into a monthly supplemental income of 7,000 rupees. According to the state administration, there are hundreds of other women, like her, who have received Pashu Sakhi training and are empowering other women in their community (reported by ANI News agency on 26.08.2021).
After completing the training, Dhapu Bai gave a demonstration unit of 20 chickens in the Choma village of Kota district of Rajasthan. Since then, backyard chicken farming has become a family source of income for Dhapu Bai, and she currently has 60 bird units.She makes enough money, between 2500 to 3500 each month, selling eggs and poultry. She is serving as an example for other local farmers (Singh et al. 2017).
Some of the popular backyard poultry breeds/varieties
Pratapdhan
kadaknath
Aseel
Vanaraja
Source: (AICRP on Poultry Breeding, ICAR)
Conclusion
The backyard poultry farming has enormous potential to increase the accessibility of eggs and chicken meat in rural and tribal communities, as well as to empower women and create jobs and additional revenue. The preservation of biosecurity, newly emerging and remerging diseases, nutritional inadequacies, predation, marketing, and the extinction of native breeds are only a few of the primary difficulties faced by backyard poultry farming .However, each of these difficulties presents chances to go over the obstacles and advance with sustainable production. The best methods for maximising the benefits of the backyard poultry farming are community-based models in health care, marketing, and skill development.
References
- https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/rural-women-in-rajasthan-transforming-cottage-poultry-industry-through-livelihood-pathshalas20210826131359/ data accessed on 07.11.2022.
- https://aicrp.icar.gov.in/poultry/ data accessed on 07.11.2022.
- Livestock Census Rajasthan (2020). https://www.rajras.in/index.php/20th-livestock-census-of-rajasthan/ data accessed on 07.11.2022.
- Singh M., Poonia M.K., Kumhar B.L. and Singh G. (2017). Livelihood Security of Poor Families through Pratapdhan Backyard Poultry Rearing in Kota District of Rajasthan. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Science, 6(4): 466-469.
- Ullengala R., Ramarao S.V., Raju M.V.L.N. and Chaterjee R.N.(2021). Backyard poultry farming for sustained production and enhanced nutritional and livelihood security with special reference to India: a review.Tropical Animal Health and Production, 53:176.
