Rural Poultry Projects In Kerala

1

THE RELEVANCE OF BACKYARD AND SMALL SCALE POULTRY PROJECTS TO SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD IN TWO PANCHAYATHS IN THRISSUR DISTRICT Deepa G Menon

THESIS Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the course APPRECIATION PROGRAMME ON SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE (Programme Code: APSS)

AN IGNOU INITIATIVE IN

FOR OUR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

COLLABORATION WITH

M S SWAMINATHAN RESEARCH FOUNDATION, CHENNAI 2009

Indira Gandhi national Open University, Maidan Garhi, NewDelhi

2

The relevance of backyard and small scale poultry projects to sustainable livelihood in two Panchayaths in Thrissur District

3

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

This is to certify that the project report entitled “The relevance of backyard and small scale poultry projects to sustainable livelihood in two Panchayaths in Thrissur District” submitted to the Indira Gandhi National Open University, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi – 110068 in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the programme is an original work carried out by Deepa G Menon with enrolment no 093569130 under the guidance of Dr P Anitha. The matter embodied in this project is genuine work done by the student and has not been submitted either to this University or to any other University / Institute for the fulfilment of the requirement of any course of study.

Date:25/05/09 Name Address & Designation of the student Name and Address of the Guide Deepa G Menon Assistant Professor, Department of Poultry Science, Kerala Agricultural University, Mannuthy, Thrissur, Kerala

Dr P Anitha Associate Professor, Centre for Advanced Studies in Poultry Science, Kerala Agricultural University, Mannuthy, Thrissur, Kerala

4

Acknowledgements I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. P Anitha Associate Professor Department of Poultry Science, College of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Mannuthy. Her understanding,

encouraging

and

personal

guidance have provided a good basis for the present thesis. I wish to express my warm and sincere thanks to Professor E Nanu, Dean, College of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Mannuthy for permitting me to join this course. I am deeply grateful to my Professors Dr. A Jalaludeen and Dr. P A. Peethambaran, Centre for Advanced Studies in Poultry Science for their detailed, constructive comments and important support throughout this work. I owe my most sincere gratitude to Dr U S. Ramachandran, whose ideals and concepts have had a remarkable influence on my entire career. I am thankful to Dr P D Suresh, Dr Baburaj,Dr Joy George, who gave me untiring help during my work. I warmly thank my colleagues Dr. Anish D, Dr Geetha R, and Dr. Radhika for their valuable

5

advice

and

friendly

help.

The

extensive

discussions around my work and interesting explorations in operations have been very helpful for this study. My warm thanks are due to Ambili, a good friend and colleague who was kind enough to help and support me. My sincere thanks are due to the official referees for their detailed review, constructive criticism and excellent advice during the preparation of this thesis. I

also

wish

Sethumadhavan,

to Dr

thank Joy

Dr.

Baburaj,

George,

for

Dr their

continued support and guidance has been of great value in this study. During this work I have collaborated with many colleagues for whom I have great regard, and I wish to extend my warmest thanks to all those who have helped me with my work. I owe my thanks to my family members, my sons Roshan and Aaryan. Without their encouragement and understanding it would have been impossible for me to finish this work. My special gratitude is

6

due to Mr. Musa Isaacs and Mr. Farook Qureshi for their constant encouragement and affection.

7

Sl No

Table of contents Page INTRODUCTION

1.

11 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.

19 3.

RATIONALE OF THE STUDY 29

4.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 31

5.

RESULTS & DISCUSSION 36

6.

RECOMMENDATIONS 75

7.

CONCLUSION 79

8.

SUMMARY 81

9.

REFERENCES 84

10.

APPENDIX 86

8

LIST OF TABLES Table no

Title

Page

1

Year-wise Estimate of Egg production

13

2

Profile of Thrissur District

17

3

Observed frequencies and percentages

36

4

of Variables studied among farmers Production performance of standard

48

5

birds Observed frequencies and percentages

51

6

of variables among integrators Details of poultry projects

in

58

7

Panchayath-I Details of

in

61

8

Panchayath-II Economics of backyard poultry units

67

9

Economics of broiler production

69

10

Ratings of constraints faced by poultry

70

poultry

projects

9 farmers 11

Constraints felt by broiler farmers

71

10

LIST OF FIGURES Table no

Title

Page

1

Family size of the respondents

2

Experience

in

38

3

poultry rearing Details of pullets distributed in the last

58

4

five years Details of pullets distributed in the last

62

5

five years in Panchayath-II Split up of cost of production in

68

6

backyard units Ratings of constraints faced by poultry

70

7

farmers Ratings of Constraints felt by broiler

71

farmers

of

the

respondents

37

11

Preface This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the course Appreciation Programme on Sustainability Science submitted to Indira Gandhi National Open University. The matter embodied in this project is genuine work done by me and has not been submitted to this University or to any other University / Institute for the fulfilment of the requirement of any course of study. This thesis is the final work of my study of done in collaboration with the Department of Animal Husbandry, Local self governments, Government of Kerala. It serves as documentation of my project work, which has been made from my detailed discussions with veterinarians, poultry farmers, kudumbasree members, trainees, entrepreneurs, and subject matter specialists. The study has been a part of my job as a scientist at the Centre for Advanced Studies in Poultry Science, Mannuthy. The thesis consists of ten chapters which cover various aspects of rural poultry production scenario in some Panchayaths of Thrissur district. My supervisor on the project has been Dr P Anitha of the Centre for Advanced Studies in Poultry Science, Faculty of Veterinary & Animal Sciences of Kerala Agricultural University. The thesis has been made solely by me and there has been an attempt to provide in this work, references to similar studies done elsewhere.

12

INTRODUCTION

13

1. INTRODUCTION Poultry provides employment to about 1.5 million people and contributes about Rs. 350 Billion to the National GDP. Though poultry development in the country has taken a quantum leap in the last three

decades,

the

growth

has

been

mainly

restricted to commercial poultry. Rural backyard poultry, contributing nearly 30% to the national egg production, is the most neglected one. This is in spite of the fact that their poultry eggs and meat fetch a much higher price than that from commercial poultry. For the poorest of the poor and

the

landless,

the

major

issues

are

food

security and risk spreading through subsidiary income.

Backyard

infrastructure

poultry

set-up

requiring

is

a

potent

hardly

any

tool

for

upliftment of the poorest of the poor. Besides income

generation,

improve

food

scale poultry stimulate

rural

backyard

poultry

self-sufficiency.

production

economic

has

growth

the of

can

Small-

potential resource

to

poor

households. Poultry rearing can enhance household food security and contribute to poverty reduction through provision of supplementary food, income and employment. Poultry production in Kerala remains largely as a backyard venture with virtually no modern units. These

backyard

birds

have

low

to

medium

productivity. There is, however, a market demand of 5063 million eggs in the State against the availability of a meager 1197 million eggs. The State food security project aims to enhance Egg

14 production in the State from the base level of 1196 (Million Nos.) to 2395 (Million Nos.). Its implementation

requires

coordination

and

integration

government

departments,

local

of

governments, Increasing farmers

and

several

the

will

nutritional

other

productivity improve

content

of

the

of

institutions. small-scale

availability

food,

and

enhance

and food

security generally among the poor. There are a number

of

community

engaged poultry research

will

groups

and

production focus

on

individuals

projects.

finding

out

This

how

the

projects are functioning, their socio economic status, profitability, constraints and strategies that can be employed to improve their success. The per capita availability of egg in Kerala is very low at 72 eggs/ year and that of poultry meat is at 0.9 kg/year against the world average of 147 eggs and 11 kg poultry meat /year, which is

the

Institute

level of

recommended Nutrition.

by

The

the

National

Census

figures

indicate that the chicken and duck population in Kerala reduced to half over a period from 1996 to 2003.

However,

there

has

been

a

significant

improvement in the population of other species of poultry especially quail and turkeys. An overall 47%

reduction

in

the

poultry

population

was

observed during the period. One

of

the

biggest

problems

is

the

non-

availability of land. Kerala is already placed in India among the most thickly populated States. The agricultural land is also on the decline, which

translates

to

a

higher

cost

of

feed

15 ingredients. Kerala

There

which

are

make

no

feed

specific

companies

poultry

in

feeds.

Therefore, many a times, feed has to be procured from other States. The availability of quality chicks is another problem in Kerala. Moreover, the

cost

States

of

is

farmers,

compared

another

facilities

Furthermore,

insurance

to

neighbouring

constraint.

loan/credit

satisfactory. lack

labour

For are

small

coverage.

poultry far

from

poultry

units

and

above,

Over

Government has imposed a 12.5% Value Added Tax. Low production potential in the stocks maintained by the backyard farmers and small holders is yet another problem. However, the up gradation has to be gradual as the birds need to retain their hardiness, required for their scavenging nature and

survivability

Proper

feeding

in

and

harsh

other

rural

conditions.

managemental

aspects

will also help improve the productivity of the birds. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY DEPARTMENT, GOVERNMENT OF KERALA The Department being the nodal agency for poultry activity

provides

a

nucleus

for

the

implementation of schemes like SGSY (Ministry of Rural Development) as per their requirement. This Department Indian

has

Council

taken of

up

in

association

Agricultural

with

Research

a

targeted program for up-gradation of low-input technology birds Poultry Development activities in the State aim at increasing the production of egg, production and distribution of chicks and good

quality

Scientific

poultry Poultry

meat, Rearing

impart and

training

on

Management,

16 encouraging

unemployed

youth

and

members

of

weaker sections of society to take up poultry rearing and gain self employment, assisting women to start backyard poultry units etc. To carry out the development activities there are nine poultry farms,

one

Central

Broiler

Hatchery

Farm, and

One

two

Duck

Farm,

Intensive

One

Poultry

Development Blocks under the Department. Table 1 Year-wise Estimate of Egg production Sl. No.

Year

India

% change over

Kerala

% contribution

previous year

of Kerala

1

2001-02

38729

5.72

2002

5.2

2

2002-03

39823

2.82

1347

3.4

3

2003-04

40403

1.46

1277

3.2

4

2004-05

45201

1.87

1197

2.9

5

2005-06

46166

2.13

1196

2.6

6

2006-07

50663

9.74

1199

2.4

Source: Economic Survey and Department of Animal Husbandry

In a country like India where the average level of nutrition is very low, chicken and eggs, which

are

not

expensive,

can

contribute

considerably towards improving diet as a source of animal protein. As per estimates available, the per capita availability of egg is very low at 41 eggs /year and poultry meat is 0.9 kg/year against the world average of 147 eggs and 11 kg poultry meat /year. Government of India has set a target

for

achieving

production

of

over

52

billion eggs by 2011-12, at a growth rate of 4.3 per cent.

17 Poultry farming for egg production relaying on

purchased

feed

are

uneconomic

in

Kerala.

Poultry rearing on commercial lines is therefore largely confined to broiler production. The egg production which reached 2054 million in 19992000 is continuously showing declining trend and in

2005-06

million

it

reached

recording

a

a

lower

drastic

level

fall

of

of

1196

41.75per

cent. During 2006-07 the situation is changing and a 0.25% increase over the previous year is recorded

and

egg

production

increased

to

1199

million Nos. The per capita availability of egg based on production during 2003-04 is only 39/ year and from 2004--05 to 2006-07, it further declined to 36/year. The per capita consumption of egg during 2006-07 is 66/year. The gap is filled by importing eggs from neighbouring State. An alarming factor to be noted in this regard is that

over

the

last

three

years

the

domestic

production of egg is declining to a lower level than that of 1984 - 85. The decline in poultry population and hike in cost of feed were the major

reason

for

the

decline

in

production.

During 2006-07, 1021 million numbers of eggs is imported to the State. The export during the year is 4.3 million numbers Backyard poultry system has good potential in the state.

Around

8-10

lakh

chicks

are

being

introduced every year in the state. Apart from Animal

Husbandry

department

and

Kerala

Agricultural University, KSPDC, a few NGOs and private farms are also involved. But the system is yet to develop to the required extent. The

18 functioning

of

strengthened

the

to

department

foster

the

farms

is

backyard

to

be

poultry

system. On the contrary, in India as a whole it was

transferred

into

a

vibrant

scientifically

organised industry. BROILER PRODUCTION Poultry production has undergone rapid changes during the past decades due to the introduction of

modern

intensive

production

methods,

new

breeds and improved preventive disease control and bio-security measures. Nearly 10-15 Private hatcheries,

working

as

satellite

hatcheries

contribute to the local production of chicks and chicken

meat.

employment

Approximately

is

40000-50000

generated

through

direct broiler

production. Apart from this, around 30000-40000 MT

of

layer

chicken chicks,

meat,

which

broiler

and

includes layer

broilers,

parent,

culls

etc. is being imported from neighbouring states. PEOPLES PLAN CAMPAIGN The State of Kerala flagged off the people’s plan campaign

in

1997.

Poultry

projects

are

being

implements right from the start of the campaign. The

greatest

challenge

to

any

Government

is

alleviation of poverty in the rural areas of the State. Kerala State Planning Board, initiated a 'Peoples'

Campaign'

in

order

to

improve

the

Panchayaths and municipal bodies to draw up the Plan

Schemes

within

responsibility. the campaign

their

respective

areas

of

Following are the objectives of

19 •

To

evolve

economic

planning

with

participation

and

mobilization

resources

the

development

in

peoples' of

local

process

by

involving stake holders. •

To

effect

substantial

relaxation

of

beauracratic control and thus the empowerment of people. One of the important features of people's planning is that the major thrust of the

Panchayaths

productive

sectors

has

been

mainly

focused

on

agriculture

and

other activities followed by social sectors and infrastructures. THRISSUR DISTRICT PROFILE Thrissur is the cultural capital of Kerala State. Profile of the District is depicted in Table 2 below. The district lies between 100 101 X 100 461 latitude and 760 541 longitude in the central part of Kerala and is surrounded by (a) Arabian Sea on the West (b) Coimbatore District of Tamil Nadu and Palakkad district of Kerala in the east (c) Malappuram and Palakkad district in the north and (d) Ernakulam and Idukki district in the South. It has an area of 3032 Sq km.

The land holding

is predominantly marginal. The district has moderate infrastructural facilities. well

It has a busy railway station and is

connected

to

other

districts

and

states.

Two national high ways NH 47 and NH 17 passes through the district.

The economic development

of the district in the recent past has been more conspicuous in the tertiary sector. The flooding NRI remittance has helped development of new town

20 ships and growth centres at different parts of the district. The network

district Canara

has

Bank,

a

well-developed

the

lead

bank

bank

of

the

district has been doing exceedingly well as the leader.

Among the public sector banks SBT, SBI

and Canara bank have a major presence. Thrissur is

an

industrially

and

commercially

developed

district.

The district has basic infrastructure

facilities

and

district which,

has

71.8

district

a

as

per

population

percent

has

the

92.56%

live

latest of

in

literacy

census

29.74 rural rate

the

lakhs areas,

and

a

the high

percentage of skilled persons. Table 2

Thrissur Districts’ Profile

District Came Into Existence

1 st JULY 1949

District Head Quarters

Thrissur

Geographical Area

3032 Sq.km

Parliamentary Constituencies

3

Assembly Constituencies

14

Taluks

5

Villages

254

Corporation

1

Municipalities

6

District Panchayath

1

Block Panchayath

17

Grama Panchayaths

92

Table -2

of

21

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

22

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.

Studies in Bangladesh by Rahman and Hossain, (1995) showed that an intervention with poultry production created a relatively small decline in the

overall

poverty

with

the

proportion

of

extreme poor declining from 31 to 23% and the moderate poor stagnating around 29%. `Todd,

(1999)

and

Dolberg,

(2001)

opined

that poultry activity is to be considered as a learning process for the beneficiaries, but it has to be realised that one activity alone is not sufficient to lift a family out of poverty. The opportunities called as the enabling environment must

be

available

for

the

beneficiaries

to

establish a small poultry enterprise, to minimize the risks and to take up other income generating activities. Jensen (2000) observed that about 70 % of the

rural

landless

indirectly

women

involved

in

activities.

He

rearing

is

economically

sector

could

sectors

if

found

be

that

one

these

are

of

women

directly

or

poultry

rearing

homestead

poultry

viable. the are

The

most

poultry

productive

properly

trained,

supported with credit and other necessary inputs and

made

to

operate

under

supervision

of

extension workers. Poultry rearing is suitable for widespread implementation as it is of low cost,

required

productive

and

little can

be

skills, incorporated

is

highly into

the

23 households work. Poultry is the only activity in which

a

large

number

of

landless

women

can

participate. In the small-scale poultry units, which support the landless, production per bird may be low, but distribution of benefits will be more

equal

impact.

and

have

Poultry

great

human

rearing

is

development

a

culturally

acceptable, technically and economically viable. Moreover, the ownership of poultry is entirely in the hands of women. Mack et al (2000) opined that in order to increase egg and poultry meat production there is a

need

for

increased

investment

guided

by

policies and institutions that promote equitable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly longterm

outcomes.

As

Backyard

poultry

make

an

important contribution to poverty mitigation, it should be considered as any strategy to improve rural livelihoods. Right policies and investment, well

designed

and

participative

development

programmes can overcome the constraints faced by the

smallholder

poultry

producers.

These

intensive production methods place high demands on

proper

health,

hygiene

and

management

and

require only a small, but very skilled labour force.

This

type

of

production

has

also

been

adopted in developing countries but the scope of adoption has been limited due to the high inputs and skills required. The progress in industrial poultry production methods has however had little effect on subsistence poultry production methods in rural and peri-urban areas, where inputs into disease control remain minimal. Although this is

24 true in general, there are some geographical hot spots

where

industrial

poultry

production

and

small holder village poultry systems have both massively grown in close geographical proximity, notably in Thailand, Indonesia, and China. Del Ninno et al., (2001) described in their paper that rural poultry production protect

poor

people

in

Bangladesh

will not against

the

natural disasters that hit the country from time to time, but it can help them build up their asset base.

Jensen and Dolberg (2002)advocated for using poultry

as

enabling

a

tool

in

environment

poverty must

be

alleviation.

An

established

by

providing access to feed, vaccine, vaccinations services,

micro-finance,

marketing

and

other

inputs and services. A village group, composed of members of socially equal status, is an excellent entity

to

disseminate

cost-effective

entity

improved to

technology,

disseminate

a

extension

messages, and a secure entity for disbursement of loans. Karlan,

(2002)

opined

that

an

enabling

environment would give all the villagers access to poultry farm input supplies and services; pave the way for disbursement of micro-credits in a cost-effective way; of

associations

livestock groups;

facilitate easier formation through

formalised

village

help people acquire the skills

that are required for a business set-up ., form

25 the basis for a marketing organization for farm products and can be used by other NGOs, having the

same

target

groups,

to

implement

other

development activities.

Dolberg (2003) reviewed poultry as a tool in poverty alleviation focusing on experiences from Bangladesh but survey and project work that has been undertaken in India. Animal husbandry and agricultural

departments’

extension

programmes

are hardly known or used by most poor people for whom the poultry work is relevant. The work in Bangladesh is closely linked to the presence of NGOs and their capacity to reach out to poor people.

Micro-credit

component

in

the

undertake

and

it

has

been

an

important

interventions

that

is

to

difficult

the

NGOs

distinguish

between the benefits from micro-credit and the benefits from poultry production in Bangladesh. In

India,

there

are

many

NGOs

that

are

much

closer to people than the government extension services,

but

few

of

them

have

any

poultry

expertise. in some States, the commercial sector has a strong presence. He stresses that project ‘models’ need to be adapted to the conditions prevailing in different countries.

Gondwe et al (2003) found that rural poultry is raised and utilized by about 80 percent of the human

population,

primarily

situated

in

rural

areas and occupied by subsistence agriculture. Different

poultry

species

are

raised,

mostly

26 indigenous to the area, except chickens, where traces

of

Black

Australorp

breed

can

be

identified The paper describes a community-based project that aims to contribute to food selfsufficiency

among

smallholder

farmers

through

promotion and improvement of poultry species in an

integrated

cultural

and

system farming

without system

changing

the

Distribution

of

flocks by age groups was in favour of old birds (over 52 weeks) in chickens and ducks and growers (20-30

weeks)

in

pigeons.

This

showed

that

farmers keep their birds for a long time. The proportion of chicks and ducklings less than ten weeks old was small. This suggests high mortality rates caused by diseases and predators. This age group is vulnerable and needs care. In pigeons the number of squabs is low since this is the group that is mostly consumed. Growers, mature and old pigeons are used for breeding. Inbreeding within flocks is probably occurring because of the

lack

of

a

cockerel-exchange

system

and

record-keeping. The major constraints to poultry production were outbreaks of Newcastle disease among

chickens

December

every

in

the

year;

months

of

predators

September that

fed

to on

pigeons, chickens and ducks; and poor housing and prolonged weaning periods for chickens and ducks. There is also haphazard sharing of breed stock among relatives, friends and others, within the village rather than between villages. Poultry in rural areas could play a role to contribute to the nutritional status of the people in these areas.

27 Bujarbaruah and Gupta (2005) reported that a flock size ranging from 25-250 birds are reared across

the

country

under

the

village

poultry

system. They have low production potential with only 40-80 eggs per year but are less susceptible to most of the common diseases requiring less veterinary care. In order to meet the deficiency gap in poultry meat and egg sectors, adequate and sustained efforts will have to be made to improve the production efficiency of the rural poultry which has been responsible to produce 40% of meat and

44%

of

Average

egg

requirement

productivity

from

in

the

around

country.

75%

of

the

indigenous poultry population is 60-70 eggs per year per bird. The distribution of desi birds per square km is 71 with an average holding of 2.59 indigenous birds per family i.e. a production of 2.59 X 65 eggs = 168 per family per year. With an average family size of 5.5 in the region and projected requirement of 90 eggs per person per annum

(50%

of

WHO

recommendation),

the

requirement per family is 5.5 x 90= 495 i.e. a deficiency

of

327

eggs

per

family.

For

the

development of the region through family poultry, the need therefore is to increase the production potential

of

the

indigenous

birds

through

improvement measures like Sound and systematic breeding programs with improved breeds developed for backyard purpose. Slow but steady replacement of

the

existing

indigenous

birds

with

lower

production potential with improved breeds like Vanaraja / Giriraja was recommended.

28 Mapiye carried

and

Sibanda

(2005),

in

Zimbabwe

revealed

out

in

a

study

that

on

an

average, each household had a flock size of 30 ± 6

chickens.

Chickens

that

received

full

feed

supplementation had highest flock sizes, hen and chick numbers. About 40.5 % of deaths recorded were due to predation, 30.2% due to disease, 8.8% due to accidents, 8.6% due to parasites and 12.9% due

to

unknown

causes.

Although

88%

of

the

households were male-headed, women owned 95% of the chickens. Female-headed households had higher chicken flock sizes and lower mortalities than male-headed feeding

households.

(43.5%

(51.2%)

of

and

the

cleaning

Women

dominated

households), (37.2%).

in

watering

Men

mainly

dominated in shelter construction (60%). Housing, feeding

and

health

systems

were

identified

as

opportunities, and predation, diseases and chick mortality village

as

constraints

chicken

to

production.

the

expansion

Adequate

of

disease

control, reduction of chick losses, improvement of

husbandry

practices

and

implementation

of

gender sensitive projects were recommended. Rai production

et

al

in

(2005)

Andaman

and

studied Nicobar

the

poultry

Islands

and

found that majority of eggs in the market come from

hens

kept

in

semi-intensive

or

backyard

systems in rural areas. Poultry keeping has a pivotal role in the economy of rural farmers. Of late there has been an increasing awareness among the

farmers

to

adopt

diversified

agriculture,

including livestock and poultry. Poultry flock size in the villages varies from 10-50. Women,

29 assisted in some cases by children, play key role in this sector, and they are main owners and managers of family poultry production. The birds are

reared

backyard

either

or

semi

under

free-range

intensive

system

system.

The

or

owner

sometimes provides supplemental feed like rice, wheat and paddy. The amount of food provided to the birds depends on the financial status of the farmers and egg laying capacity of the birds. Constraints

analysis

of

backyard

poultry

in

Erode, a district of TamilNadu done by Baskaran et al(2005), it was observed that the farmers predominantly

had

medium

level

(31-38)

of

constraints, while inferior number of respondents had low (< 30) and high (> 39) level. The results of correlation analysis revealed that out of 11 socio-economic

characteristics,

experience

backyard

in

education,

poultry

farming,

possession of backyard poultry birds and contact with extension agency had significant negative relationship

with

the

constraints

faced

by

backyard poultry farmers. Further, the regression analysis revealed that all the 11 socio-economic characteristics put together contributed to the extent

of

81.20

per

cent

towards

constraints

level which was found to be highly significant (P <

0.01)

and

occupation,

the

experience

characteristics in

backyard

namely, poultry

farming, possession of backyard poultry birds and contact

with

extension

agency

had

significant

negative influence on constraints level among the respondents

30 Krishna Rao (2005) recorded that poultry are inseparable

from

mankind

and

in

the

rural

scenario they do not need any land, are easy to manage, regularly lay eggs, disease resistant and well

adapted

better

to

the

nutrition,

stepped

up

harsh

their

environment.

egg

substantially.

production Only

a

With

can

good

be

Night

Shelter need to be provided to them. With all these

attributes

poultry

farming

in

the

rural

environment can be a powerful tool for poverty alleviation and social justice. To the rural poor this can be Rainless Harvest with egg production and

stock

multiplication

proceeding

unhampered

irrespective of rain or drought. It is women that are largely involved in poultry farming. In every village market and fairs poultry and eggs are major commodities. Huq and Mallik (1998) found that rural women in Bangladesh use poultry as a tool in poverty alleviation

and

development

has

concluded potential

for

that

poultry

capturing

the

inequitable distribution of income and employment in rural areas. Women could operate and manage broiler, layer and duck farms efficiently with a high return on the investment. Poultry production on a smaller scale like in the are useful to improve

the

scavenging

native

and

backyard

poultry

under

semi-intensive

systems,

where

women traditionally play the most important role. Lack of quality feed supply, Lack of vaccines especially RD, Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD) and

Marek’s

disease,

Low

price

of

dressed

31 broilers

and

eggs

were

pointed

out

as

the

conducted

a

study

in

size

of

100

constraints faced by them. Singh

and

Jilani

(2006)

Garhwal,

Himalayas

backyard

poultry

farmers

belonged

with

sample

farmers

and

found

to

age

category,

old

that

most

having

medium family size, low annual income and high social

participation.

perceived

non-

Among

the

availability

constraints

of

day

old

chicks/lack of suitable germplasm, Infrastructure facility, high price rate of day old chick, lack of

technical

vaccine

know-how,

and

medicines,

non-availability Government

policy

of and

credit facility of farmers were ranked as most important. The total improvement of this sector needs

proper

planning,

infrastructure

and

creation

monetary

of

support.

adequate To

make

backyard poultry rearing a profitable venture the farmers

should

be

adequately

trained

in

scientific poultry rearing. Mandal poultry

al

farming

Pradesh, were

et

India

(2006)

in and

predominantly

studied

Bareilly found

district

that

young,

the

the

had

Backyard of

Uttar

respondents

low

level

of

education, belonged to Muslim religion and were from

the

medium

Agricultural they

had

labour

marginal

sized was land

the and

nuclear major

family.

occupation;

medium

livestock

holding with more than 6 years of poultry farming experience. The average flock size was 5 birds and

they

system

reared

with

birds

little

in

free-range/backyard

supplementary

feeding.

The

production level was very low. Natural hatching

32 was the main source of chicks. No systematic care was

taken

with

regard

to

the

diseases

and

vaccination of the birds was also not carried out in any of the villages surveyed. Direct marketing was

prevalent

in

the

area

although

middlemen

existed. The major constraints identified were high

incidence

of

poultry

diseases,

lack

of

suitable germ-plasm and attack by predators. Choprakarn and Wongpichet(2007) reviewed the information on indigenous chickens describing

the

conservation

production

and

in Thailand,

systems,

utilization.

management,

Their

production

systems have been sustainable and about 6 million households, or 50 percent of Thais, keep poultry at

home.

Each

family

produces

30–50

birds

of

marketable size annually, which represents 100– 120 million birds for the country as a whole. These chickens kept as one cockerel and three to five

hens

per

household.

Flock

size

varies

through the year, as it depends on the hatching rate,

the

availability

of

natural

feed,

the

effects of endemic diseases, and the amount of time that the farmers have available to take care of their birds. Periods of seasonal change are critical times of high mortality; about 30–70% of birds in a flock die annually. About 50–70 % are raised for home consumption; the rest are for sale to provide cash income. Few are used for cultural and religious activities.

33

RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

34

3. In

RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

spite

of

the

progress

in

agriculture,

India still faces a big challenge in job creation and maintenance of food security and women’s role in farming is still inadequately acknowledged. With increasing urbanisation and sky-rocketing of land

prices

everywhere

due

to

population

explosion and allied factors back-yard poultry units have vanished to a great extent from the middle-class

and

lower

middle-class

and

lower

middle-class people leaving poultry largely in the hands of rural poor in single digit numbers only who can only maintain these birds through a system

of

deprived

foraging sections

constitute

and

scavenging.

of

instruments

our of

society

social

To

these Poultry

justice

and

measures for poverty alleviation. It

is

estimated

economically

active

that women

78% are

of

India’s

involved

in

agriculture. Across the poor farming communities, care of animals is the women’s domain, but not in the

rich

contributes

families. nearly

Rural

30%

of

poultry the

sector

national

egg

production in India and is the most neglected one. The rural households normally maintain the desi birds under scavenging or semi-scavenging conditions. During the past three decades, the popularity

of

scavenging

chicken

has

reduced

drastically due to low production of the native chicken used in this system.

35 Against this background of poultry ownership there

are

keepers,

only the

two

major

economically

groups

of

advanced

Poultry

commercial

farmers and the economically poor rural farmers, labourers

etc.,

who

supplement

their

meager

income by raising a few desi chickens. It may therefore

be

appropriate

to

term

the

poultry

raised by the urban elite as Urban Poultry and the poultry raised by the rural poor the bulk of which belong to the desi group as Rural Poultry. Government of Kerala has implemented several poultry projects in the past and especially after the advent of the peoples plan campaign.

It is

expected that such projects will continue to be implemented in the future. There is the need to evaluate the success of these projects and to suggest measures to improve them. In this context a study has been undertaken to critically examine the

after

effects

of

poultry

distribution

projects in two important Panchayaths in Thrissur District. Along with this, an evaluation of integrated poultry units (broilers) prevalent in many parts of Thrissur will also be done to get an idea about

their

study

will

performance provide

and

feasibility.

information

on

This the

profitability of these projects will act as a stimulus to attract more entrepreneurs to this field. Opinion of experts in this field will be collected to enlist the main problems faced by

36 poultry

farmers

and

also

the

pitfalls

in

the

help

the

programmes taken up previously. The

findings

of

the

study

will

local level planners to critically evaluate the projects implemented in past and restructure the future

poultry

projects

as

needed.

This

will

result in better profitability and streamlining of

poultry

outcome security, resources poor.

of

production the more

and

study

in will

sustainable increased

the

District.

be

improved

use

income

for

of

The food

natural

the

rural

37

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

38

4.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Keeping in mind the limitations of the various ongoing schemes and taking into account the need to have a deeper insight into the requirements of the rural poultry sector with focus aimed at the poorest of the poor the study was completed in two important Panchayaths of Thrissur District.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 1. To analyse the situation of poultry rearing in the two Panchayaths 2. To evaluate the poultry projects implemented in

the

two

Panchayaths

during

the

past

5

years. 3. To

determine

registered

the if

socio-economic any

consequent

development to

these

projects. 4. To investigate the profitability of backyard and small scale poultry projects. 5. To

determine

the

constraints

faced

by

the

poultry farmers. 6. To develop strategies to improve the success of poultry projects.

METHODOLOGY

39 Structured interview schedule was used to conduct the situational analysis of the two Panchayaths. Thirty

households

covered

under

in

the

the

study.

two The

Panchayaths

were

households

were

selected at random. The variables as perceived by the rural poultry owners were recorded in the schedule prepared for the purpose of the study. The rank position of the constraints was decided on the basis of frequency distribution against each constraint. Data available with the Veterinary, Local self governments

and

Rural

Development

Departments

were collected and evaluated. Ten experts in the field and ten small scale poultry production unit owners

were

identified

and

information

was

gathered from them. A total of 30 respondents were

selected

purposive

from

sampling

the

two

Panchayaths

technique.

Data

by

collected

through personal interview was categorized and tabulated. standard

The

data

statistical

was

then

analysis

by

subjected finding

to the

mean. Correlation and multiple-linear regression analysis by taking the total constraints score as the

dependant

economic

variable

characteristics

and of

the

chosen

backyard

farmers as independent variable.

sociopoultry

40 Variables

studied

with

respect

to

rural

poultry farmers (a)Gender (b)Family size (c) Occupation (d)Experience (e)Flock Size (f)Management Practices (g)Feeding system (h)Flock Health (i)Diseases (j)Production particulars (k) Preferences of beneficiaries (l)Self help groups (m)Cost of production

Descriptive research was used in the study of integrated

poultry

units

so

as

to

obtain

a

complete and accurate description of the schemes and the problems there in. Items of observation would include •

Description of the project

•

Cost of production

•

Problems faced

•

Profitability

Socio

economic

development

in

terms

of

improvement in the following variables was also evaluated. •

Increase in income

•

Improvement in the skills

•

Trainings received

41 •

Job satisfaction

•

Improvement in the nutritional status of the households

42

RESULTS DISCUSSION

&

43

RESULTS & DISCUSSION The results are expressed as answers to six major objectives and depicted below followed by a brief discussion of the same. 5.1.

Situation

of

poultry

rearing

in

the

two

Panchayaths 5.1.1 Most

General overview of

the

households

rear

village

chickens

under scavenging system mainly as a source of income (39%) and food (36%). It could be seen that

women

own

and

mange

most

of

the

flocks

(54%). But chicken meat is only consumed when important guests visit the family. Most farmers (59.5%) prefer chicken with brown plumage color mainly because it sells faster at the market. 5.1. 2 Variables observed are depicted in the Table 3 below Variables

Category

Gender

Male Female

Family size

Occupation Experience

in

Percentage

Poultry Rearing

respondents 11 19 14 11 5 29 1

36.67 63.33 46.66 36.67 16.67 96.67 3.33

<1

3

1.00

<4 5-7 >7 Others

Major

No. of

years 2-5 11 >5 16 Flock Size <5 5 6-10 15 >10 10 Table. 3 Observed frequencies and percentages of variables

36.67 53.33 16.67 50.00 33.33

44 5.1.2.a

Gender

It could be seen that a good majority of the respondents (63.33%) were females where as only 36.67% were males. The person in charge of the poultry unit in these houses was identified as the respondent in all of the cases. 5.1.2.b

Family size

The data revealed that 46.67% of the respondents had a nuclear family with a family size less than four, whereas 36.67 % had a family size between five and seven. A 16.67 % lived as a joint family with family size above 7. The graph representing family size of the respondents is given as Fig 1 .

Family size of the respondents 46.67

50

36.67

40 30 %

Series1

16.67

20 10 0 <4

5-7

>7

Number of individuals

Fig 1 Family size of the respondents 5.1.2.c A

vast

Occupation majority

considered

poultry

occupation. belonged

(96.67

Though to

the

%)of

rearing most

of

farming

the as the

a

respondents subsidiary respondents

community,

with

45 agriculture as their major means of livelihood, only one farmer did not have any other means of livelihood.

5.1.2. d The

Experience

study

revealed

respondents

were

that

having

10.00 less

%

than

of

the

1

year

experience in poultry farming. A 36.67 % of the respondents had 2-5 years experience, whereas a majority

(53.33%)

had

more

than

5

years

experience.

Years of Experience in Poultry Farming

10.00

<1

53.33

2-5

>5

36.67

Fig 2 Experience of the respondents in poultry rearing 5.1.2. e

Flock Size

Average flock per household was eight birds with a sex ratio of four hens for one cock in around 60% of the households evaluated. Scavenging space is

the

criteria

behind

the

decision

of

flock

size. About 16.67 % of the households reared less than 5 birds, 50.00 % reared less than 10 birds and 33.33% reared more than 10 birds.

Most of

46 the families (63.33 %) did not hatch eggs using a broody hen. Chicks were brought at day old stage and above in 36.67% of the households.

Pullets

and male birds were also purchased as growers below 2 months of age. At least one broody hen was always kept to maintain the flock. Rarely did they hatch eggs regularly. Some (19 %) households did not have a cock. opined

that

they

About 65% of the families

purchased

chicks

only

from

reliable sources or through the local veterinary hospital/ dispensaries. 5.1.2. f

Management Practices

Most of the farmers housed the birds in their backyard. A temporary shelter was constructed in all

the

birds.

households Around

shelters

70

with

households

were

to %

provide of

wooden

the

shelter

households

planks.

following

to

None

intensive

the made

of

the

system

of

management. All the respondents were using semiintensive system of housing. Around 42% of the respondents bedding

were

material

aware is

of

homestead

provided

in

cages.

the

No

poultry

houses. Some have the habit of using cane baskets to protect and cover the birds. Few farmers have built pakka poultry houses but are mostly with inadequate spacing. Chicks when hatched were not given any artificial warmth. They are left with the mother hen under a bamboo basket at night. Most of the farmers let out chicks only after at least 10 days of age. In most of the houses there were not more than two broody hens. The birds are let out from as early as 7 am in the morning, and they

are

permitted

to

roam

around

till

6

pm

47 generally. Owners were not aware of the floor space requirements. 5.1.2. g

Feeding Practices

Seventy-three

percent

of

supplementary

feed

chicken.

to

the

farmers There

give is

no

regular time for feeding of poultry though they are fed daily in most of the households. There is no proper idea about the nutritional requirements of poultry.

When 63% opined that birds should be

fed less than 25 g of feed every day, 30% opined that it should be between 25 and 50 g. About 7 % were of the view that this should be around 100g. Few farmers (23.33 %) give shell grit to improve the shell quality of eggs produced. The birds in backyard survive well on kitchen waste, coconut grating,

insects,

pests,

wild

seeds,

grains,

grasses and other vegetations. The supplemented feed

consist

vegetables, feeds,

of

rice

flour

vitamins

cooked bran,

and

and

rice, dried

milling

proteins.

kitchen fish,

commercial

wastes

More

wastes,

than

lacking 75%

of

in the

farmers were supplementing carbohydrates alone. There is no regular provision of protein sources to these chickens. The

total

quantitative

supplementation

varies

from 2.00 to 3.30 kg per week given mainly during harvest

time.

On

an

average

this

expenditure

comes to 20 to 33 rupees per week. Chickens are given

water

in

all

the

households

mainly

by

women. Water is also provided in basins inside the poultry shelters. These containers are seldom removed

for

cleaning

and

sanitation.

Water

is

simply refilled when the level goes down. Few

48 household feed

(13.33%)

supplements

vitamins

etc).

had

the

(mineral No

practice

of

mixtures,

regular

giving

B-complex

deworming

was

in

practice and usually the medicines were got from the local veterinary dispensary. Farmers also had the habit of purchasing medicines from the local medical shop without prescriptions. 5.1.2. h

Flock Health

The mortality rate is often more than 50% rising to 100% in most of the households. Around 72% of the house hold reported disease incidences and mortality rates. Thirty percent of the farmers had noted a mortality of 100% over the past five years. Ninety-eight percent of the farmers treat sick

chicken

with

diverse

types

of

drugs

including traditional medications. About 12.7 % were reported to use traditional methods, 66.9% used 68.9%

modern

drugs

vaccinated

including chicks

anti-biotics, while

14.5%

and used

pesticides to control external parasites.

5.1.2.h.1 Diseases The

most

worrying

disease

symptoms

respiratory distress, white, greenish blood

in

droppings,

closed

are

diarrhea,

eyelids,

mucus

exudates from the nostrils and mouth and gaping. Pox is a common incidence in almost all of the households. Few farmers reported that the cross bred

birds

distributed

had

poor

immunity

and

seldom lived beyond 2 years. Some farmers also reported that some poultry developed dermatitis

49 problems and bumble foot, which were difficult to be cured. Farmers of the opinion that coloured birds

have

better

livability.

The

death

rates

were found to be higher among chicks immediately after purchase, followed by birds above two years of age. The causes of mortality in chicks were predators

(42.6

%),

disease

(31.3%),

and

accidents (26.1%).

From the symptoms described by farmers, it is probable that Newcastle disease (ND), Infectious Bronchitis (IB), Fowl Pox, Chronic Respiratory distress, Coccidiosis, Fowl Typhoid and Pullorum Disease may be prevalent in the backyard poultry. Most (93.33%) of the households bury dead birds while the rest throw dead birds into pits, which are eventually picked up by scavengers.

5. 1.2.h.2 Vaccinations. All of the households had vaccinated their birds during

the

Assistance

to

RD

vaccination

States

for

programme

Control

of

under Animal

Diseases of the Panchayath. Some farmers utilized the

vaccines

dispensaries

supplied

during

the

by rest

the of

Veterinary the

periods.

There is no practice of any vaccination other than against Ranikhet Disease.

50 5.1.2.h.3 Avian Influenza awareness Farmers are aware of the zoonotics importance of the disease and are concerned about the control measures. None of the households were found to adopt any of the bio-security measures.

5.1.2.h.4 Constraints to managing chicks Main constraints to chicks in the backyard were found to be the lack of feed, disease outbreaks, predators and poor management in this order of importance. 5.1.2.i

Flock Production Characteristics

Farmers opined that cross bred hens start laying at an age varying from 160 to 175 days. In some cases the egg production was nil.

Hens lay an

average of 15 eggs per clutch with an annual production varying from less than 100 to 140 per year. It could be noted that the birds are seldom kept for production beyond a period of two years. Households consume about 75 % of the eggs laid. Selling

of

households,

eggs though

is

not

they

common sell

among

eggs

in

the the

neighbourhood. Usually,

the

birds

after

laying,

stay

in

and

around the house of the owner in search of feed and come back at dusk or by the call of the owner. 5.1.2. j Preferences of beneficiaries There is a better preference for brown shelled eggs.

The average price obtained for each egg

51 during local sales varies from 3 to 4 rupees. Farmers are of the opinion that coloured birds fetch better price when sold. The price may vary from Rs 120 to 150 per kg live weight.

Some

birds did not produce any eggs and were sold for meat at around 8 months of age when they attain around 2 kg body weight. All the poultry owners reported that, the price of eggs and birds varied according to season and religious festivals

5.1.2. k Self help groups Among

the

respondents,

70%

were

members

of

kudumbasree. Farmers believe that membership in Kudumbasree has helped them to be selected as beneficiaries of various plan schemes, increase their awareness about the plan, participate in various training programmes etc. 5.1.2.l Cost of production The farmers kept no records of the expenditure incurred in the rearing of backyard flock. So the calculation of cost of production could not be done accurately.

5.1.3 Discussion of the findings The findings reveal that poultry is kept as a means of income and food by majority of the households.

This

is

in

agreement

findings of Gondwe et al (2003).

with

the

The results of

the present study indicated that a majority of the respondents were females. This is an asset

52 over which the poor women actually have control. This

activity

role

in

can

poverty

therefore

play

alleviation

an

and

important

also

s

may

contribute to an improvement in the income of the household. Jensen (2000) also reported similar findings. The fact that poultry meat is consumed only during

special

occasions

indicated

that

their

standards of living are not especially good. A good majority of the households did not have a big family and this is again in support of the general trend in Kerala. Respondents considered poultry as only a subsidiary income source. The fact that a vast majority of the farmers had more than

5

years

experience

in

poultry

rearing

indicates that this system is prevalent in Kerala for many years and is generally accepted as a viable one. The proportion of new households is a positive sign as this indicates many new families coming into this sector in the recent days. The

average

flock

size

of

8

and

a

male

female ratio of 1:4 were reported. This is in tune with the ratio recommended by the Kerala Agricultural Scavenging

University space

is

for

the

Backyard

criteria

rearing.

behind

the

decision of flock size. It is a known fact that the

non-availability

of

land

is

a

major

constraint to commercial poultry production in Kerala. The same is again a restricting factor in rural

poultry

rearing

indicating

the

need

for

innovative techniques of poultry rearing which also

takes

into

land.

The

fewer

consideration number

of

the

scarcity

families

holding

of a

53 broody

hen

is

popularity

indicative

of

realization

artificial

of

of

the

increasing

incubation

and

losses

owing

production

the to

broodiness. Majority of the households raised cocks and this indicated that cocks are of demand among the farmers.

These

cocks

are

used

for

religious

purposes and sold at a comparatively higher price than that of hens. There is also another positive finding that majority of the farmers did not buy chicks

from

indicates quality

unknown

the

and

/

road

side

vendors.

increase

in

awareness

acceptance

of

the

about

chicks

It the

supplied

through government agencies among the farmers. This may be due to the fact that deaths reported within

a

period

distributed

of

through

one the

month

among

Panchayath

chicks

veterinary

dispensaries / hospitals are replaced. Most of the families (63.33 %) did not hatch eggs using a broody hen and this indicates the need

for

hatcheries

at

the

District

level

to

hatch chicks as per the need of common farmers. Chicks were brought at day old stage and above in 36.67% of the households.

Pullets and male birds

were also purchased as growers below 2 months of age this indicates that there is scope for chick hatcheries and egger nurseries in the district. Around 70 % of the households made shelters with wooden planks which is the most economical system of housing possible in our conditions. All the respondents were using semi-intensive system of

housing.

Higher

level

of

awareness

about

54 homestead

cages

indicated

that

they

can

be

propagated among the needy farmers. The fact that the farmers were not aware of the floor space requirements has led to inadequate space being provided. Thus it is indicated that this problem need to be focused in future. There is the need to

make

farmers

inadequate

aware

space

in

of

the

poultry

drawback

houses.

The

of

facts

that Chicks were hatched without any artificial warmth and that they are let out from 10 days of age

is

owing

to

the

higher

atmospheric

temperature in Kerala. The birds are let out from as early as 7 am in the morning, and they are permitted to roam around till 6 pm generally. So on

an

average

a

bird

gets

8-

13

hours

for

scavenging. The

fact

that

73%

of

the

farmers

give

supplementary feed indicated the high level of awareness feeding

on for

the better

importance productive

of

concentrate

performance

in

rural poultry. There is no proper idea about the nutritional evident

requirements

from

the

quantity of feed

fact

of that

poultry.

This

farmers

give

is a

which may be less than 25 g per

every day or as high as 100g. Few farmers (23.33 %)

give

shell

grit

and

this

is

essential

to

improve shell quality. Majority of the feed fed being carbohydrates and household wastes, lacking in

vitamins

and

proteins,

this

alone

is

insufficient for the bird to perform to its full potential. The total quantitative supplementation varies from 2.00 to 3.30 kg per week given mainly during harvest time.

55

Chickens are given water inside the poultry shelters, but these containers are seldom removed for cleaning and sanitation. This practice is to be instilled in their minds as contaminated water will be a good source for spread of diseases. Few household

(13.33%)

had

the

practice

of

giving

feed supplements, which though would increase the cost of production, are certainly found to be beneficial to the health of the birds. There is the

need

to

programmes

stipulate

through

regular

the

local

deworming veterinary

dispensaries. They should be instructed to use broad spectrum dewormers in the correct dosage. Farmers’ habit of purchasing medicines from the local medical shop without prescriptions needs to be curtailed as indiscriminate use of drugs would lead to the development of resistance. The mortality rate is often more than 50% after

supply

probably

due

to

the

stress

of

transportation and heat. Thirty per cent of the farmers had noted a mortality of 100% over the past

five

years

with

some

outbreaks.

So

the

disease diagnosis and surveillance system has to be fortified further to reduce economic losses to farmers.

These

reported

by

results

Gondwe

et

are al

similar

to

those

(2003), Mapiye

and

Sibanda (2005). The disease symptoms reported are suggestive of

chronic

respiratory

distress,

Fowl

Pox,

Ranikhet disease, Coccidiosis, syngamosis, ectoparasitism, dermatitis problems and bumble foot.

56 This is in agreement with the findings of Huq and Mallik (1998), who found that lack of quality feed supply, vaccines especially RD, Infectious Bursal price

Disease of

(IBD)

dressed

and

Marek’s

broilers

and

disease,

eggs

were

low the

constraints faced by farmers. There is the need to educate the farmers on the proper disposal of wastes

as

well

as

dead

birds.

All

of

the

households had vaccinated their birds during the RD

vaccination

programme

under

Assistance

to

States for Control of Animal Diseases (ASCAD) of the

Panchayath

Central

indicates

Government

collaboration

with

the

success

programme, the

of

conducted

Animal

this in

Husbandry

Department. The study also shows that, the death rate was high in chicks followed by growers and adult birds and diseases contributed markedly to high flock mortalities recorded during rainy season. These results are in agreement with reports from other developing countries( Kitalyi 1998, Minga et al 1989). Dessie and Ogle (1996) recommended that

diseases

spread

faster

in

large

flocks

compared to smaller flocks. High disease levels were probably due to exposure of chickens to the natural

environment,

interaction

of

different

entities, within and among flock contacts during scavenging,

uncontrolled

introduction

of

new

stocks, contacts through exchange or sale of live chickens

or

movement

between

households

and

villages (Mapiye and Sibanda 2005) There is the need to ensure regular supply of Ranikhet disease and Fowl Pox vaccines to the

57 farmers as these two diseases create havoc in the rural

poultry

production

systems.

Though

the

farmers were aware of contagious and zoonotics diseases, the fact that none of the households adopt

bio-security

measures,

are

a

matter

of

serious concern. Main constraints to rearing chicks being the lack of feed, disease outbreaks, predators and poor management, if proper attention is directed towards

these,

their

mortality

rates

can

be

brought down considerably. Chick mortality could be

controlled

adopting

in

the

one

of

the

administration

Panchayaths

of

anti-

by

stress

medications and glucose to them immediately after reaching the farmers premises. Cross varying

bred

from

hens

160

to

start 175

laying

days,

at

which

an is

age much

better than the desi hens. In some cases, the egg production was nil. This might be due to the poor nutritional

status

of

the

birds

prior

to

the

start of lay. The analysis of feeding practices indicated

that

in

most

of

the

households

protein source is fed to the birds.

no

Mostly birds

in lay alone have access to ample quantities of feed.

Hens lay an average of 15 eggs per clutch

with an annual production varying from less than 100 to 140 per year. The expected production of various crosses distributed in the District from Kerala Agricultural University is as given below in Table 4. A comparison indicated that most of the

birds

benchmarks.

were

performing

far

below

the

58

Characteristics

Gramalakshmi

Gramasree

Gramapriya

160 180 180-200

152 175 190-200

150 180 200-225

1.8 50 Light Brown

2 52-55 Brown

1.8 55 tinted

95 Backyard

95 Backyard

95 Backyard

Age at sexual maturity in days Age at 50% egg production Annual egg production (upto 72 weeks of age) in numbers Body weight at 72 weeks in kg Egg weight in g Egg Colour Livability in % Purpose Feeding

Scavenging + 25-30 Scavenging + Scavenging + 25g balanced layer

25-30 g

30 g balanced

ration

balanced layer

layer ration

ration Table 4 Production performance of standard birds Households consume about 75 % of the eggs laid and this definitely improves the plane of nutrition at the household level. There shelled that,

is

eggs

they

a

better

owing

are

medicinal value.

to

better

preference

the in

age the

old

for

brown

misconcept

nutritional

and

The average price obtained for

each egg being Rs.3 to 4 is comparatively higher indicating that there is the preference for farm fresh eggs in the District. Value addition may be resorted returns

to to

at

various

farmer.

levels

Those

to

birds

improve

which

did

the not

produce any eggs were sold for meat at around 8 months of age when they attained around 2 kg body weight. All the poultry owners reported that, the price

of

eggs

and

birds

varied

according

to

59 season and religious festivals like Easter, Eid etc. A

good

majority

of

the

respondents

were

kudumbasree members and they were provided with training in poultry rearing and financial support from banks to start poultry enterprises. As the farmers kept no records of the expenditure incurred

only

production

approximates

could

be

of

the

calculated.

cost Under

of the

prevailing conditions in Kerala, backyard system of rearing seems to be the ideal solution to improve egg and meat production and thus ensure food security.

5.2 Evaluation of Broiler Integrators in the Panchayath 5.2. 1. Socio-economic Profile of Respondents The broiler unit owners according to their age were categorized into three groups, i.e., young, middle and old. The data presented in Table below reveals

that

majority

of

the

poultry

owners

(46.67%) belonged to the middle age group, while 30 per cent poultry owners were from older age

60 group and 23.33 per cent hailed from the young age group. Majority of the respondents were well educated and all of them could read and write. A majority of the respondents (50%) belonged to the schedule caste. About 56% of the respondents had a medium family

size.

A

vast

majority

(83.33%)

of

the

respondents lived as joint families. About 60% of the

respondents

had

agriculture

and

animal

husbandry as their major occupation. Fifty–three

per

cent

of

the

respondents

were

marginal farmers, 33% small farmers and the rest were large scale farmers. About 43.44% of the respondents had more than 3 years experience and 33.33% had more than 8 years experience in this field. Seventy three per cent of the farmers had moderate to high level of satisfaction in their job. These farmers reared flocks of a size ranging from 1000 to 10000. Birds are housed in units of size 900 to 1200 per shed. Most of the farmers owned multiple sheds. The observations made with respect to the variables studies is given in the table 5 below. Variables

Category

No. of respondents

Percentage

61 Young (less than 32 yrs) Age

Education

7

23.33

14

46.67

Older (more than 47 yrs)

9

30.00

Primary

4

13.33

High school

9

30.00

Pre-degree

14

46.67

3

10.00

16

53.33

Muslim

2

6.67

Others

0

0.00

Christian

12

40.00

General

12

40.00

Schedule caste

15

50.00

Schedule tribe

0

0.00

Other backward caste

3

10.00

Nuclear

5

16.67

Joint

25

83.33

Small (less than 4 members)

10

33.33

Medium (5-7 members)

17

56.67

3

10.00

Middle (3247yrs)

Graduate and above Religion

Caste

Family type

Family size

Hindu

Large (more than 8 members)

62 Major Occupation

Agriculture

10

33.33

Animal Husbandry

8

26.67

Service

2

6.67

Business

3

10.00

Labour

7

23.33

0

0.00

Marginal ( 10 cents)

16

53.34

Small (25 cents)

10

33.33

4

13.33

<2000

6

20.00

Medium 20015000

20

66.67

4

13.33

< 3 year

7

23.33

4-8 years

13

43.34

8 years

10

33.33

8

26.66

13

43.34

9

30.00

Diseases

15

50.00

Waste Disposal

23

76.67

Lack of space

12

40.00

Taxation

19

63.33

Land holding Landless

Large Flock

size

Small

Large Experience

>5001

Level of Low satisfaction Moderate High Constraints

63 Table 5 Observed frequencies and percentages of variables 5.2. 2

General rearing practices

5.2.2.1

Type of farm unit- Integration

There

are

more

Panchayath

who

are

than

50

involved

farmers in

this

in

the

type

of

projects. The major integrator is Thompson group. Day old chicks are supplied to trained farmers according to their potential to rear birds as well as the availability of land. The vaccinations are done as follows 0-5 day

– RDF Vaccine

10- 14 days

– IBD Vaccine

20 days- 25 days

– RD Lasota Vaccine

Feed,

feeders

waterers,

vaccines

etc

are

provided by the integrators. B- Complex vitamins are

administered

regular

visits

veterinarians

on

by

visit

daily

basis.

veterinary on

request

There

are

supervisors

and

to

ensure

the

health of the birds. Medicines and disinfectants are also provided by the integrators. The farmer has to provide the shed, put in the labour and do the management. The birds are reared to a period varying from 35 to 50 days and they may weigh from 1.60 kg

to

3

kg.

The

farmers

get

a

remuneration

varying from Rs.2 to 3.60 per kg depending upon the prevailing market rates. Five to six batches

64 of birds are reared in a year with a down time of 10-15 days in between. 5.2.3

Discussion of the findings The data obtained

the

poultry

owners

revealed that majority of (46.67%)

belonged

to

the

middle age group, The fact that backyard poultry farmers are mostly not from the old age group is conducive, since they will be more malleable to change.

It is obvious that in today's world of

modernization,

the

younger

generation

will

obviously have more scientific orientation and consequently, adopt more number of technologies. Education is one of the important factors which promote the development of any enterprise. Education

results

in

changes

in

overall

behaviour. Majority of the respondents were well educated and all of them could read as suggested by the high literacy rates in Kerala. About 10 per cent were graduates indicating that, educated people are also taking up poultry rearing as a means of livelihood. A

majority

of

the

respondents

(50%)

belonged to the schedule caste. About 56% of the respondents majority

had

a

(83.33%)

medium of

the

family

size.

respondents

A

vast

lived

as

joint families. About 60% of the respondents had agriculture and animal husbandry as their major occupation. The role of the poultry owners in a family largely depends on the type and size of the family. The time available with the members of the household largely depends on the number of members as well as the type of family. It is

65 clear that most of the respondents had a family size above four and belonged to joint families, and as the number of individuals involved in the business

are

more,

birds

get

better

care

throughout the day. Fifty–three

per

cent

of

the

respondents

were marginal farmers, 33% small farmers and the rest were large scale farmers. There was equal participation poultry

are

from kept

all

only

castes, in

the

but

rural

usually villages.

There is the need to propagate poultry rearing in the

suburbs

through

the

popularization

of

homestead cages. Poultry rearing is accepted as a subsidiary occupation by majority of the rural households. As pointed out by Dr. M S Swaminathan, India now needs

to

have

a

campaign

for

achieving

nutritional security and if the rural population sticks

to

the

old

tradition

of

caste

related

occupation; this would most definitely hamper the progress. The findings of the study further shows that backyard

poultry

farming

was

found

to

be

a

subsidiary occupation for all the respondents. The findings are in consonance with the findings Panda and Nanda (2000) and Saha (2003). Thus, this enterprise could prove to be an excellent source of income to support their livelihood. It could provide gainful employment to the family members and utilize the land available with the farmers. In most of the cases in the present study, the families had more than one occupation

66 for their source of income. The earnings from all sources of income were, however, pooled in the family. Many farmers had batches with more than 2000 birds, this indicates the high level of business these farmers are involved in. The study shows that all the respondents kept poultry of medium size units. Since, diversification is the need of the hour, thus, given the present scenario, rural poultry

can

offer

an

excellent

avenue

of

employment. The

most

important

problem

faced

by

the

broiler farmers is that of waste disposal. Due to the lack of space many farmers cannot get rid of the wastes hygienically. There is the need to probe into measures for proper waste disposal and propagate the same among these entrepreneurs. It is

a

known

fact

that

many

a

good

farms

were

closed down in Kerala due to the hazardous waste coming

from

them

creating

problems

in

the

neighbourhood. They if not treated properly are liable

to

contaminate

the

waterways

and

the

surroundings leading to a serious health problem. Value added tax imposed by the government of Kerala is yet another major problem faced by the farmers. A good portion of the profit will have to be remitted as tax. This can lead to all the farmers trying to reduce their profits to evade tax to the extend possible. This in turn will lead to all farmers restricting the number of batches or the total number of birds reared. So, due

to

under

utilizing

of

space,

optimum

67 production will not happen and thus the cost of production can go up. Incidence of diseases continue to be

a big

problem and there is the need to educate them more on the hygienic precautions and bio-security measures to be adopted in farms. This point has a greater

significance

in

the

dawn

of

Avian

Influenza threat in all parts of the world. The study by Mandal (2006) revealed that mortality rate in desi birds due to Ranikhet disease was highest,

followed

respiratory

by

problems

Fowl and

pox, other

Coccidiosis, miscellaneous

diseases, which corresponds with the findings of Saha (2003). The study also shows that, the death rate was high in chicks followed by growers and adult birds and diseases contributed markedly to high

flock

mortalities

recorded

during

rainy

season (Mandal2006). High

disease

levels

were

probably

due

to

exposure of chickens to the natural environment, interaction among

of

different

entities,

contacts

during

flock

within

and

scavenging,

uncontrolled introduction of new stocks, contacts through

exchange

or

sale

of

live

chickens

or

movement between households and villages(Mapiye and Sibanda 2005) Lack of space leads to smaller stocks and this will increase the cost of production, and lesser profits. The commodity prices would go up leading to fewer purchases.

68

Evaluation of poultry projects implemented in the two Panchayaths during the past 5 years. 5.3.1

Pullet Distribution schemes

Poultry

projects

have

been

regularly

implemented in the Panchayaths of Kerala through the

Animal

Husbandry

governments,

Kerala

Department,

State

Poultry

Local

self

Development

Corporation and some private players. In Panchayath – I, poultry projects are being implemented for the past five consecutive years. The details of beneficiaries, type of project are given below in Table 6. The findings indicate that there is a good proportion of beneficiaries from the under privileged sector of the society. There number

has

been

of

birds

considerable distributed

increase in

the

in

the

Panchayath

during the last year owing to the implementation of Pullet Distribution schemes (SEP) under the tsunami

rehabilitation

programme

of

the

government. In the first three years, all the poultry distribution was done without any Plan Fund.

There has been considerable improvement in the poultry population in the Panchayath as evidenced

69 by the latest census reports. As the farmers are not

with

the

habit

of

keeping

records

of

production only estimates of production could be obtained. projects

In

this

have

been

Panchayath envisaged

more and

poultry

implemented

owing to the increased demand from the society. Two

egger

nurseries

have

been

started

by

the

middle of the last financial year taking into consideration the increase demand for chicks in the Panchayath.

Panchayath

I

st

I year Plan Fund Beneficiary 55000 contribution Beneficiaries 110 SC/ST 24 beneficiaries Pullet Types of distribprojects ution

No of birds 550 distributed Table 6 Details Panchayath-I

of

IInd

IIIrd

IVth

Vth

year 124000

year 60000

year 1,65,000 78000

year 1,45,000 25000

96 28

163 34

115 55

222

Pullet distribution

Pullet distribution

School poultry club

980

815

poultry

Egger nurseries2 nos Pullet Pullet distributi distribut on ion

projects

575 in

1100

70

1200

1100 980

No of birds distributed

1000

815

800 600

575

550

400 200 0 I

II

III

IV

V

Fig 3 Details of pullets distributed in the last five years 5.3.2

Performance of the Egger Nurseries in

the Panchayath The higher demand for pullets has led to an egger

nursery

Panchayath.

At

project present

being two

envisaged

in

beneficiaries

the have

been selected and trained or the same by the Animal Husbandry Department. It is expected that units of 1000 bird capacity will help to address the problem of non-availability of quality chicks in the Panchayath. Chicks are purchased from the Kerala

Agricultural

University.

On

the

day

of

purchase they are given B-complex vitamins and glucose in the drinking water. This practice has helped the farmers to reduce the chick mortality to bare minimum (1%).

71 These chicks are brooded for a period of 15 days and then are reared for a period of at least 40 days of age. the

Vaccinations are carried out as per

stipulations

Studies

in

of

the

Poultry

Centre

Science.

for

The

Advanced

birds

are

dewormed, vaccinated against Ranikhet Disease and distributed to beneficiaries who had booked for the same with the local veterinary surgeon. All the pullets are sold before 45 days of age. The farmers are obtaining on an average a profit of Rs. 6000/- per batch. The

birds

which

are

supplemented

with

compounded feed were found to start laying at 160 days of age on an average. The egg production was again found to vary from nil to 160 eggs per annum. The average egg weight was found to be around 50g.Though there are no egg cooperatives in the Panchayath, there has been an attempt to collect

eggs

from

the

households.

Each

egg

fetches a minimum of Rs 2.50/-. This egg is being utilized in the mid day meal programme for school going

children

in

the

Panchayath.

At

present

there are two schools implementing this project. This

has

been

a

stimulus

for

the

farmers

to

produce table eggs, as there is good and regular demand for the same in the Panchayath.

72

5.3.3

School Poultry Club Project

During the last financial year, this project with an

outlay

implemented

of

around

in

the

Rs

1

lakh

Panchayath.

has

Each

been

selected

student is given 5 birds free of cost (1 male: 4 females). Some quantity of compounded feed was also given to the beneficiaries. This project is implemented among students from the Below Poverty Line Category with the objective that it would help to improve the nutritional status of these children. It is expected that the eggs produced will

be

available

for

consumption

for

their

households and thus the children will have an access to an additional protein source in their diet. Vaccination and deworming programmes have been implemented to augment production and thus ensure better

productivity.

conducted

for

the

Training student

programmes prior

to

were the

distribution of birds. Enclosures for these birds were

constructed

at

the

houses

under

the

supervision of the project supervisor. Steps were taken meeting

to

ensure of

the

that club

there

will

members

be and

monthly regular

evaluation of the progress of the programme.

73 This scheme has been implemented only in the last financial year and hence the critical evaluation of the same can be done only ion a later stage. It could be seen that there is a belief among farmers that brown shelled eggs are better for health than white shelled ones. Farmers preferred coloured birds to white feathered birds in their backyard. Highest livability was seen in the case of Gramapriya followed by Gramasree. In Panchayath – II, poultry projects are being implemented for the past five consecutive years. The details of beneficiaries, type of project are all given below in table 7. Years => Items Plan Fund Beneficiaries SC/ST beneficiaries Type of project

No of birds distributed Table

7

I

II

III

1,02,000 97 3

60,000 53 25

25

Backyard poultry

488

Details

IV

V

106

125000 300 50

Backyard

Backyard

Backyard

poultry

poultry

poultry

539

2500

372

of

Panchayath-II

5.3.4 Panchayath-II

poultry

125

projects

in

74 The evaluation of the projects implemented in Panchayath –II indicated that during the last year, more than 2500 birds have been distributed to the beneficiaries. There are no broiler units in the Panchayath. The trend is that there is an increase in the demand for chicks from year to year.

Birds distributed in the last 5 years 3000 2500

2500

2000 1500

number of birds

1000 500

488

0 I

539

372 II

0 III Years

V

IV

Fig 4 Details of pullets distributed in the last five years in Panchayath-II

The local veterinary surgeon had devised the project

in

compounded

such feed

beneficiaries

at

a

way

that

is

also

the

time

some

quantity

supplied of

to

distribution

of the of

pullets to the farmers. So also they will be provided with B-complex vitamins and glucose on that

day.

The

Panchayath

had

distributed

75 Gramapriya and Gramalakshmi with good acceptance by the farmers.

5.3.5

Financial Matters

The cost of a pullet from 45 to 60 days age varies from Rs. 50 to 75. A farmer rearing 1000 pullet for egg purpose under moderate conditions gets a gross profit of around Rs 6000 to 10000. This indicates that more ,egger nursery projects may

be

envisaged

and

implemented

in

the

Panchayath to create job opportunity and income for the local farmers, cater to the needs of the farmers

through

supply

of

chicks

and

thus

increase the poultry wealth and egg production in the state. The Veterinarians of both Panchayaths opined that

there

is

the

need

to

ensure

year

round

supply of quality chicks to the farmers. It is necessary that these chick nurseries get ample number

of

day

old

chicks

from

the

government

farms and approved agencies for the perpetuation of the project in the years to come.

76 5.4

Socio-economic development (SED) registered

if any consequent to these projects. The

principal

measures

of

SED

are

education,

nutritional standards, occupation, and income or combinations of these. •

Improvement in knowledge level/ skills

•

Increase in income

•

Improvement in the nutritional status of the households

•

Trainings received

•

Job satisfaction

5.4.a

Knowledge level

Knowledge level is an important measure because it

does

income

not

usually

might)

information

change

after

about

(as

young

education

easily.

There

information

broiler

farmers

indicated

occupation adulthood

can

be

gathered that

they

or and

obtained from

the

were

well

aware about the management of birds, diseases and Biosecurity measures.

5.4. b. Nutritional Aspects It could be noted that the eggs produced in the house holds are consumed by the family members

77 themselves (75%) and the rest is being utilized for

local

through

sales.

the

Though

sales

of

the

these

income eggs

generated

is

not

too

significant, the improvement in the nutritional status of the households need to be considered. A family with 5 hens on an average with 150 eggs each would produce 750 eggs in the production cycle. If 10 per cent of all these eggs are lost, from

among

the

remaining

675,

25%

is

locally

sold. These 169 eggs sold @ Rs 2.50 each would generate an income of Rs 422/- per family. The rest,

i.e.

506

eggs

are

consumed

in

the

household. The cost of this would come to Rs 1266/-. This in other words on an average would come

up

to

25

kgs

of

eggs

and

proportionate

amount of protein. The findings of this study is in agreement with the findings of Mandal(2006), who reveals that majority of the poultry owners(85%) did not sell the eggs and used them for domestic consumption, whereas, only 15 per cent respondents sold the surplus eggs. However, with regard to selling of birds' majority of the poultry owners (90%) sold birds and only 10 per cent respondents did not sell birds.

78 Mandal (2006) reported

an

average selling price

of Rs.2.75 for desi, whereas, in case of birds the

average

selling

price

was

Rs.120

when

it

attained a body weight of about (1.5-2)kg.

5.4.c . Financial Aspects It is clear that as a consequence of the project there

will

be

considerable

improvement

in

the

nutritional status of these families as well as provides an additional income when their salvage value is realized at the end of production. In the case of males, higher are the returns as birds sold during the festivals and for religious purpose fetch around Rs 250/- each. The few eggs which are kept aside for hatching are utilized to either propagate the flock or for local sales.

5.4.d. Trainings received All the farmers had received training in poultry rearing

from

farmers

regularly

Animal about

the

Husbandry diseases,

integrator. received

Job satisfaction

poultry

training

Their

control,

techniques were all very high.

5.4.e

the

Department. their

Local

from

awareness vaccination

79 The findings on the table in page 37 indicated that 73.37 % of the respondents had moderate to high level of satisfaction with their job. The low satisfaction was on account of the objections raised

by

the

neighbours

like

foul

smell

and

absence of a provision for proper waste disposal.

80 5.5. To investigate the profitability of backyard and small scale poultry projects. 5.5.a

Profitability

of

Backyard

poultry

the

expenses,

income,

Projects Items

of

profit,

production cost

of

ie

production

etc

in

backyard

poultry production is given in the Table 8 given below. Table 8 Economics of backyard poultry units

No

Item

2

Expenses Cost of a pullet (60 days old ) Feed Requirement

3

Shelter/

4

Miscellaneous

5

TOTAL Expenses

6

Income

1

Nos

Unit in Rs

cost Total in Rs

Cost

10

75

750

@ 15 kg/ bird 1

15

225

1000

1000

10

5

50 2025

Egg Production

135 x 9

2.5

3038

Salvage value females

9

50

450

9

Male

1

112

112

10

TOTAL Income

3600

11

Profit per unit

1575

12

Profit per bird

157.5

13

Cost of production of one egg

7 8

Rs 1.67

81 Cost of pullets

Cost of egg production in Backyard

FeedCost Shelter/ Miscellaneous

50 (2%) 750(37% )

1000(50% )

225(11% )

Fig 5 Split up of cost of production in backyard units

The data shown above points out that when the mortality rate is nil, a unit of 10 birds reared by the farmer is capable of producing an income

upto

Rs

3600/-.

In

that

case

the

profitability per bird would be as high as Rs 157.50/-This seems to be a nominal income and hence may be suggested as a means to improve the income of the rural poor.

5.5.b

Profitability

of

Broiler

integration

projects There

is

seasonal

variation

in

the

cost

of

broiler meat. All the fluctuations in cost levels in the neighbouring state like TamilNadu affect the price of chicken in the District. Usually

82 integrators get a profit varying from Rs.2 to 3.60 per kg depending upon the prevailing market rates. So a farmer with 1000 birds in a batch and 6 such batches per year on an average makes a profit of 30000 annually.

5.5.c

Profitability

of

small

scale

broiler

farmers The

estimates

respect

to

batches

per

of

expenditure

broiler year,

units

of

undertaken

and size

income 1000

entirely

with and

by

6

the

farmer and birds sold locally for meat indicated the following. The economics of production are depicted in Table 9 below. Sl

Item

Amount

no 1

Average Cost of production of 1 kg meat

(Rs) 42.00

2

Average weight of a broiler bird

3

Average Cost of

4

Average selling price of 1 kg of broiler

5

Average profit per bird

6

Average profit for 1000 birds reared

8000.00

7

Profit per year

48000.00

production of a broiler bird

Table 9 Economics of broiler production

1.9 kg 79.80 50.00 8.00

83 5.6

The constraints faced by poultry farmers.

Problems

faced

by

the

farmers

with

egger

nurseries were as follows ( table 10),(fig 6).

Problems

Mean Scores

Value added tax imposed by the government

Complaints from neighbours

NonAvailability of Feed

NonAvailability of Birds

Threat from predators

Threat from Diseases

Lack of space

Problems of Waste Disposal

Problems of Sales & Marketin g

3.47

3.73

5.03

5.63

4.67

3.00

2.47

2.89

4.18

6

5

2

1

3

7

9

8

4

Rank Table 10

Ratings of constraints faced by poultry

farmers

Threat

from

greatest

problem

predators,

diseases

lack

continue

followed of

by

space,

to

be

the

threat

from

complaints

from

neighbourhood, non availability of quality chicks as per the need and at the proper time. This finding points out the fact that there is

the

need to strengthen the disease control measures like vaccination and other hygienic precautions like disposal of wastes and dead birds. Ratings 5.63

6.00 5.03

4.67

5.00 4.00

Ratings

4.18 3.47

3.73 3.00

3.00

2.47

2.89

2.00 1.00 0.00

Feed

B irds

Predators

Diseases

Space

Constraints

Disposal

Sales &M ktg

V AT

C omplaints

84 The major constraints felt by broiler farmers as expressed in percentage is given below in Table 11, Fig 6.

Table 11 Constraints felt by broiler farmers

85

Percentage of farmers

Constraints faced by broiler farmers 65.35

70 60

60.08

54.74

50

50.1 49.35

40

32.26 30.65 28.76

30

27

25.6

20 10 0 Constraints Diseases

chicks

Tax

Subsidy

feed

Other State

Neighbour

Space

Waste

Marketing

Fig 7 Constraints felt by broiler farmers

Threat from predators have been highlighted as a bigger

problem

unidentified

because

animal

of

the

attacks

in

so the

called coastal

Panchayaths during last year. This was later on identified as packs of street dogs and necessary steps were taken to control this menace. Lack of space

is

livestock Kerala.

the /

major

poultry

Complaints

constraint farmer

from

the

or

faced

by

entrepreneur

neighbourhood

any in are

mostly on account of improper disposal of wastes and dead birds. Lack of space might have led to this problem. Non availability of quality chicks can be solved only by steeping up the production of

birds

through

satellite

farms

and

hatching

them through hatcheries at the Panchayath level.

86 It

is

understandable

that

Government

an

quasi

government institutions in this arena are not in a position to completely satisfy the demand.

87

RECOMMENDATIONS

88 6.

To develop strategies to improve the success

of poultry projects. •

Poultry

Recommendations

Farmers

established

on

Service Regional

Centres basis

may

to

be

provide

need based service to farmers be it Quality chicks, Feed, Biologicals, and Medicines on subsidised rates and Technical Advice. •

Health coverage to the birds in the rural areas

needs

to

vaccinations

and

strict

be

strengthened.

medication,

bio-security

Timely

coupled

measures

are

with

needed.

Availability of vaccines and drugs, as also their safety in terms of acceptable levels in end products for human consumption are other issues needed to be tackled. •

Special emphasis is needed for creating a marketing network of rural poultry produce. There

is

a

need

preservation

to

and

improve

marketing

of

processing, eggs

and

poultry products. It needs to be supported by

providing

processing,

infrastructure

packaging,

for

preservation

meat and

marketing with value addition of products and

maintaining

a

cold

chain

product reaches the consumer.

till

the

89 •

With

intensive

production,

environmental

pollution abatement and bio-waste management strategies have to be worked out. Exemption of

VAT

(value

added

tax)

on

poultry

and

better insurance coverage to poultry units to mitigate natural disasters and disease incidences

will

help

to

promote

poultry

farming. •

Duck

production

ensuring

the

is

food

a

feasible

security

of

choice the

for

rural

poor. This improves the nutritive status via egg and meat and improves economic activity by giving supplementary income. •

Strengthening of other species like quail and turkey for eggs and meat will enable us to ensure food security.

•

Farm

fresh

egg

and

meat

production

is

another option to maximize the returns to farmers in poultry sector. •

Organic egg and meat production will add to the returns of the farmers and also ensure the health of the members of the society. Kerala has tremendous potential in organic poultry

because

of

the

existence

of

traditional backyard system. Thus with the

90 help of appropriate approach and technology, the backyard system of poultry rearing can be

transformed

into

a

successful

organic

venture. •

Considering the impact of the rural poultry on poverty alleviation it is essential for Government

to

programmes

of

chicken

a

on

initial

launch

comprehensive

development long-term

all-round

of

the

basis.

support

Given

such

Desi the

dynamic

programmes can gain momentum and can move on their

own

steam.

If

these

programmes

are

started, within one decade the country can make a Rural Poultry Revolution pushing a large

percentage

of

the

poor

above

the

Poverty Line. •

Methods for proper disposal of poultry waste and

dead

birds

are

to

be

devised

and

strict

bio-

propagated among the farmers. •

There

is

the

need

to

ensure

security measures in all the small and even backyard units as a precautionary measure against Avian Influenza threat. •

There is the need for a detailed evaluation of the poultry projects implemented in all

91 the Panchayaths. Social and performance is to be undertaken on a regular basis. Impact assessment should be in a uniform manner so that

the

performance

of

different

Panchayaths can be directly compared. •

There is the need to keep record of the production performance of the hens in the backyard system so as to get the exact cost of production and profitability details.

•

Need based projects have to be devised and implemented

in

the

Panchayaths.

Resource

mapping may be done to utilize the locally available feedstuff in the formulation of concentrate feed to the birds. •

Measures for value addition may be instilled in the minds of the farmers to make poultry farming more profitable.

92

CONCLUSION

93

CONCLUSION Backyard Poultry Farming plays a significant role in rural people's life. These birds in addition to

cash

income

have

nutritional,

cultural

and

social functions. The rural poultry owners had poor

knowledge

management

feeding,

practice,

performance awareness

about

of

on

the

new

breeding

which

led

birds.

technologies

and

to

poor

Increasing

the

as

the

well

as

recommended practices can help to maximize the productivity poultry

and

consequently

farmers.

On-farm

the

income

training

of

of

rural

poultry owners is also necessary so as to bring about changes in their practices. The middleman needs to be trained and included in the

extension

farming.

programme

Farmers

need

for

backyard

training

to

be

poultry able

to

control disease, improve management and increase size of flock. Most of the farmers were reluctant to rear large flocks as they lacked skills and capital. Inputs like feed, training on processing, support for marketing are to be provided to sustain the farmers in this field. Backyard poultry farming utilizing the varieties and cross breds developed for

this

nutritional

purpose and

can

economic

help

to

status

poor, women and unemployed youth.

improve of

the

the rural

94

SUMMARY

95

SUMMARY Poultry production in Kerala remains largely as a backyard venture with virtually no modern units. These

backyard

productivity.

birds

Poultry

have

low

production

to

has

medium

undergone

rapid changes during the past decades due to the introduction methods,

of

new

modern

breeds

intensive

production

improved

preventive

and

disease control and bio-security measures. This study

was

conducted

to

evaluate

the

projects

implemented in past and restructure the future poultry projects as needed. This will result in better profitability and streamlining of poultry production in the District. A

vast

majority

considered

(96.67

poultry

%)

of

rearing

the

respondents

a

subsidiary

as

occupation. Seventy-three percent of the farmers give supplementary feed to chicken. There is no regular time for feeding of poultry as well as there is no proper idea about the nutritional requirements of poultry.

Cross bred hens start

laying from 160 to 175 days. Households consume about 75 % of the eggs laid. Selling of eggs is not

common.

Price

of

eggs

and

birds

varied

according to season and religious festivals. Farmers had no proper idea about the nutritional requirements

of

poultry,

proper

disposal

of

wastes as well as dead birds. Regular supply of Ranikhet disease and Fowl Pox vaccines is to be ensured.

96 The average price obtained for each egg being Rs.3 to 4. Broiler integration farmers and their situation were studied in detail. As the farmers are not with the habit of keeping records of production only estimates of production could be obtained. Today, more poultry projects have been envisaged and implemented owing to the increased demand from the society. Vaccinations are carried out as per the stipulations of the Centre for Advanced

Studies

in

Poultry

Science.

Each

egg

fetched a minimum of Rs 2.50/.Farmers preferred coloured birds to white feathered birds in their backyard.

More,

envisaged. received

egger

Local the

nursery

poultry

training

projects

farmers

from

may

be

regularly

Animal

Husbandry

Department. Poultry

Farmers

established

on

Service

Regional

Centres

basis

to

may

be

provide

need

based service to farmers be it Quality chicks, Feed, Biologicals, and Medicines on subsidised rates and Technical Advice. Special emphasis is needed for creating a marketing network of rural poultry

produce.

There

is

a

need

to

improve

processing, preservation and marketing of eggs and poultry products. Exemption of VAT on poultry and better insurance coverage to poultry units to mitigate natural disasters and disease incidences will help to promote poultry farming. Duck production is a feasible choice for ensuring the

food

security

of

the

rural

poor.

This

improves the nutritive status via egg and meat and

improves

supplementary

economic income.

Farm

activity fresh

by egg

giving and

meat

97 production,

Organic

egg

production

are

other

viable options. Farmers need training to be able to

control

disease,

increase size of flock.

improve

management

and

98

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99

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M

(1995)

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Ambali,

A.J.D.,

Chilera,

F.C., Lwesya, H. & Wollny, C.B.A. (1999). Rural poultry

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Denmark.

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100 Petersen

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Proceedings

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as

Promotion a

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a

Tool

of

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in

Gender

March

Poverty Equality

22-26,

Landboskole,

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http://www.husdyr.kvl.dk/htm/php/tune99/3AJensen.htm

K.M.Bujarbaruah and J.J.Gupta (2005) Family poultry for the development of NEH region ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region,Umiam, Barapani, Meghalaya

IPSACON-2005

Email:

[email protected] C.

Krishna

Rao

(2005)

A

rural

poultry

revolution for poverty alleviation in rural India Former Animal Husbandry Commissioner, Govt. of India, H.No. 110, Jaya Nagar , New Bowenpally, Secunderabad – 500 011 IPSACON-2005 Book Chapter C Mapiye and S Sibanda Livestock Research for Rural Development 17 (10) (2005) Constraints and opportunities of village chicken production systems

in

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sector

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Rushinga

district of Zimbabwe , Department of Agriculture, Bindura University of Science Education. P. Bag 1020,

Bindura,

Zimbabwe

[email protected]*Department of Animal Science, University

of

Zimbabwe,

P.O

Box

MP

167,

Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe. Fao publication

Mt

101 M

K

Mandal,

N

Khandekar

and

P

Khandekar

(2006) Livestock Research for Rural Development 18 (7) 2006 Bareilly

Backyard

district

of

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farming

Pradesh,

in

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analysis [email protected] Singh C.B. and Jilani M.H.(2005) Animal Science

Section,

GBPUA&T,

Hill

Campus,

Ranichauri, Tehri Garhwal- 249 199 (UA) Backyard poultry

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Garhwal

Himalayas

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Internet Resource Md Fazlul Huq and. Kabir Mallik (1998) The Role of Women in Poultry Development: Proshika Experiences,

Proshika,

mail:

Dhaka,

Bangladesh

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[email protected]

E,

http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/004/AC154E/AC154E04.htm S.

Mack,

D.

Hoffmann

and

J.

Otte

(2000)

Animal Production and Health Division, Food and Agriculture, rural

The

development

contribution Organization

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poultry

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the

to

United

Nations, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome,Italy

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[email protected] del Ninno, C., Dorosh, P. A., Smith, L.C. and

Roy,

D.K

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102 Dolberg, F. (2001). A livestock development approach that contributes to poverty alleviation and widespread improvement of nutrition among the poor. Livestock Research for Rural Development: http://www.cipav.org.co/lrrd/lrrd13/5/dolb135.htm Karlan, Group

D.

S.

(2002).

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Social

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http://web.mit.edu/spencer/www/soccappaper.pdf Frands Dolberg(2003) The Review of Household Poultry

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Tool

in

Poverty

Reduction with Focus on Bangladesh and India ProPoor Livestock Policy Initiative (PPLPI)Website: http://www.fao.org/ag/pplpi.html

Working

Paper

pdf(English): http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/projects/en/pplpi /docarc

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http://

www.poultrysolutions.com/ pserv/DetailedNews?news_id=508

(September

8,

2003). Timothy N.P. Gondwe, Clemens B.A. Wollny, A.C.L.

Safalaoh,

Chagunda

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Chilera

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Community-Based

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Science, Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi, PO Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi. (E-mail: [email protected]) Choprakarn Faculty

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University, Thailand, Kreingkrai. Village chicken

103 production systems in Thailand. E-mail address of corresponding author: [email protected]

104

APPENDICES

105

APPENDIX-I POULTRY POPULATION IN KERALA AS PER 2003 CENSUS Total Ducks

Sl No Districts

Total Fowls

1

Thiruvananthapuram

14,459

1,027,219

2

Kollam

72,135

690,352

3

Pathanamthitta

30,763

615,825

4

Alappuzha

251,132

594,197

5

Kottayam

70,338

926,868

6

Idukki

11,114

413,099

7

Ernakulam

63,365

991,734

8

Thrissur

49,214

1,192,016

9

Palakkad

33,120

1,132,467

10

Malappuram

39,367

1,444,351

11

Kozhikode

12,057

754,803

12

Kannur

4,040

449,951

13

Wayanad

7,828

320,870

14

Kasargod

1,677

438,080

TOTAL

660,609

10,991,832

ANNUAL POULTRY PRODUCTION 2002-03 Egg (in lakh no.s) Fowls Ducks Total eggs Total Animal Meat in the organised sector Total poultry meat Total meat production (including unorganised Sector)

ANNEXURE-II

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

12475.45 993.43 13468.88

11704.57 1063.57 12768.14

10948.63 1025.54 11974.17

10922.083 1033.855 11955.938

42804

47663

54189

55921

52611

39327

32704

27609

181023

182316

195271

195372

106

• •

•

•

•

•

•

• •

GENERAL STRATEGY FOR BACKYARD POULTRY UNIT SCHEMES of KERALA STATE POULTRY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION The egg production is planned through backyard rearing system. The hatching eggs of the parent stock maintained at the farms will be used for producing day old chicks. The Day old Chicks will be reared in egger nurseries of the Self Help Groups or farmer or private individuals, which are acting as a satellite farm. The birds when they attain 45-60 days will be procured from the above farm and supplied to beneficiaries . In case of shortage of birds, birds will be procured from reputed firms outside the state. The eggs thus produced and procured will be marketed through the societies formed for the specific purpose at remunerative price to the producer. The feed produced by Kerala State Poultry Development Corporation will be supplied for the scheme (the installed capacity for feed production is 16 Mt per shift). The feed ingredients will be purchased on annual rate contract for all the facilities. Beneficiaries will be selected by the Panchayaths The Panchayaths and local bodies will be directed to distribute pullets to the women beneficiaries. Project activity (Monitoring & Coordination) This project activity will be entirely handled by the Corporation for proper and effective implementation. Required personnel will be provided on contract basis to Co-ordinate and

107 Supervise the Programme during its implementation stage for its effectiveness in implementation within the time scheduled. The project will have a Programme Coordinator and supported by programme Supervisors for properly maintaining the accounts and other details. The Programme Supervisors will be responsible for organizing the SHG’s and to guide in all areas. They will be supported by Voluntary Extension Workers at the grass root level selected from among the KEPCO Club Members for linking the beneficiaries with Supervisors / Coordinators. The Programme Supervisors will have good liaison with local Veterinary Surgeons for providing timely health cover and other technical guidance. ORGANIZATION OF SOCIETIES A KEPCO Club will be organized for every 20 beneficiaries and a Marketing Outlet is organized comprising 20 KEPCO Clubs and one Society in each Block. The Societies are formed as per Charitable Societies Act, 1955 and Organizing Body. All beneficiaries will be the members of the Society formed. Each Society will have 7 Governing Body Members including one President, Secretary and Treasurer. The organization of various activities will be managed by the Societies. The societies will also be responsible for the inspection of equipments, various assets provided to the beneficiaries, distribution of feed, birds, etc and co-ordination of all the Sales Outlet Units of the respective Block.

108

The activities of the Societies will be as below: • To guide and supervise the primary level societies. • The primary societies will have sub centers in the Panchayat for the purpose of egg collection, distribution of other inputs. • The eggs collected can be hatched using the proposed mini hatchery in the societies. • The chicks will be sold to the beneficiaries on cost from the second year onwards as replacement stock. • The egger nurseries or integration farms under KSPDC shall rear the chicks. • The egg marketing will be done by the society at block level. • Each member has to contribute Rs.10/towards the membership fee. The cost of eggs sold by the beneficiary can be deposited in the society, which can be utilized as thrift loan to needy members. The amount can be utilized by KEPCO Clubs to take up other income generating activities. Since no subsidy is provided during 2nd year, the Society should remit the full cost of birds collected from beneficiaries to KSPDC.

109 •

•

Once the market and remunerative price is assured to the producers the growth of the segment can be assured, as the growth is market pulled. The birds required to be distributed for the backyard poultry scheme is to be reared in 45 nurseries involving the SHGs and private entrepreneurs. The SHGs and individuals having shed to rear the birds will be supplied chicks and feed and will rear the birds under strict protocol of vaccination and health care and the birds will be procured and issued to the selected beneficiaries of the local body through the Veterinary institutions of the Panchayat.