28th Annual Meeting of the Poultry Federation of India held in Hyderabad

NEW DELHI:  Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister,  Radha Mohan Singh today addressed the 28th Annual Meeting of the Poultry Federation of India in Hyderabad. Speaking on occasion, Radha Mohan Singh expressed his views in detail regarding increase in business, problems associated with farmers and traders, and assistance given by Government of India.

Singh stated that during 2014-15, the egg production with an annual growth rate of nearly 5% has reached 78 billion egg production. 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 that 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.

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. The Government of India under its initiative programme of National Livestock Mission aims at sustainable growth and development of livestock sector including poultry. Under the National Livestock Mission there are provision for a number of poultry farming and allied activities. We also need to pay attention to the global market challenges.  Singh stated that there are possible solutions for meeting challenges, whether at domestic or global level. Government has taken several steps in this regard. Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries has launched a dedicated website on Sanitary Import Permit for online receipt and processing of SIP applications for import of livestock and livestock products including poultry and implementation of Single Window System for online clearance of livestock and livestock products by all Animal Quarantine and Certificate Services Stations.