June 10th 2006, Srinagar: With a view to make poultry rearing a vibrant and remunerative avocation in the state the activity will be given an industrial status. This was revealed in a high level meeting here today. The meeting which was presided over by minister for animal husbandry, IT/science technology, Taj Mohi-ud-Din discussed many innovative ideas to give flip to the poultry rearing.
Following joint director LPP cum poultry Dr AA Baba’s presentation on the status of backyard poultry in Kashmir, different measures were discussed to make the activity more profitable.
In order to make optimum use of the departmental infrastructure it was decided to shift all the foundation stocks of Low Input Technology birds from the twin poultry campus at Hariparbat to the poultry rearing spaces available in different districts.
“The facilities at Hariparbat will be exclusively used for rearing Hi Tech broiler parent stocks. For this purpose consultancy services from country’s leading poultry industrialists will be hired and all the necessary changes required in the existing infrastructure will be undertaken before switching over to the Hi Tech broiler rearing,” the meeting decided.
It was revealed that the switch over would reduce the dependence on import of chicks from outside the state by more than fifty percent. “The existing feed mill at Hariparbat will be shifted to the Poultry Nutrition complex where covered space is already available. The hatchery and the major poultry rearing shed in the Broiler Project will be renovated. All the sheds in the twin campuses will be sanitized and whatever changes to be suggested by the consultant will be brought about on a war footing,” the meeting decided.
It was revealed that the switch over to the Hi Tech poultry is aimed to produce fast growing broilers to meet the local demand. “Under the provisions of the scheme the managing group which will head the project will be vested with full powers to manage the project on commercial lines,” the meeting said.
Initially the project will produce fifty thousand broiler chicks a month besides ten thousand Low Input Technology chicks. Under the scheme the interested broiler farmers will also take up rearing of the dual purpose birds KCL.
The meeting also decided to introduce contract farming in the rural Kashmir where interested farmers would rear 500 to 1000 chicks for two to three months to be distributed among the small and marginal farmers for further rearing in the backyard.
“The contract farmers’ units would serve as mother units. Such of the entrepreneurs would be helped by way of all the necessary equipments to raise immunized birds for the backyard. In the second phase of the programme each district would have hatcheries to make the modern hatchery at Hariparbat available exclusively for Hi tech broilers,” the meeting was informed.
With a view to afford effective marketing cover to the poultry farmers in the valley it was decided to set up a Poultry Market at Athwajan. The decision was taken after a thought provoking presentation on innovative poultry marketing by Dr G A Nahvi, Assistant Poultry Marketing Officer.
The present poultry farm at Athwajan which has been facing crisis due to water logging will be converted in to a modern poultry market with a modern dressing, packaging and storage plant. The plant is estimated to cost around Rs five to ten crores. Technical advice from Livestock Products Technology Division of VETFAC, SKUAST-K will also be sought for setting up the facility.
The idea to establish the marketing facility again came from the minister. Dr Mohammed Deen, IAS, Commissioner cum Secretary to Government Animal/Sheep Husbandry will be shortly visiting some Southern states to enter in to negotiations with some renowned hatcheries. The decisions are to be implemented within a month and a half. Dr Deen speaking on the occasion asked the officers to put in strenuous efforts to give a kick start to the plan.
The minister responding to the suggestion to afford industrial status to poultry in the state said he would soon be moving a proposal to the cabinet.
Dr SP Sharma, Director Animal Husbandry, Kashmir later thanked the minister for evincing personal interest in various departmental programmes and giving new direction to the department.
