The 28th Annual Meeting of the Poultry Federation of India was held in Hyderabad last week in which Union Minister Radha Mohan Singh listed the assistance given by Government of India to this sector.
Federation’s meeting was attended by the State Agriculture Minister and Officers of Government India, I.C.A.R. and Agriculture University.
Regarding poultry production, Radha Mohan Singh stated that during 2014-15, the egg production with an annual growth rate of nearly 5% has reached 78 billion egg productions. The poultry meat production is estimated to be 3 million metric tonne. At present the poultry products export is around Rs. 768 crore in 2015-16. Along with increase in poultry production, there is increase in income of poultry farmers.
Singh said there are also problems associated with this industry and the small and large farmers have to grapple with them from time to time. One of the issues is spread of avian influenza which is a serious impediment to the development of this industry. Despite this, timely intervention by the Government and efforts of private sector has enabled development in this sector.
The Minister said that poultry production is not only an important source of subsidiary income generation for many landless and marginal farmers but also provides nutritional security to the rural poor. However, compared to the organized sector, this backyard unorganized sector needs efforts at different levels to grow.