DADF to focus more towards entrepreneurial activity in poultry sector

NEW DELHI: The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has asked to the State Governments especially Andhra Pradesh and Bihar to come up with proposals wherein they may like to upscale the Rural Backyard Poultry Development program under National Livestock Mission (NLM) with 150 birds distribution to be done in a focussed manner in 5-6 contiguous villages/ cluster in one block of one district of the State. The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries will focus more towards entrepreneurial activity in poultry sector. These steps have been discussed in a meeting which was convened on Thursday to discuss Poultry Development Schemes under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries (DADF),  Devendra Chaudhry in New Delhi.

The meeting discussed about the present status of schemes being implemented by DADF, Poultry development schemes implemented by selected States for the small and marginal farmers and look forward to sustainable projects for them.

It was also decided that commercial broilers may also be considered in rural areas, for which, Poultry Federation of India (PFI), National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) and All India Poultry Breeders’ Association (AIPBA) may consider making proposals with Self-Help Group (SHGs)/ Cooperatives and Farmers’ Producers’ Organization to be submitted to NABARD and National Cooperative Development Corporation(NCDC) for direct funding under their respective schemes.

The meeting was attended by States viz. Bihar, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, who are implementing both Rural Backyard Poultry Development (RBPD) and Entrepreneurship Development and Employment Generation- Poultry Venture Capital Fund (EDEG-PVCF) programs under National Livestock Mission. Convergence with NCDC (Funding for Poultry Cooperatives) and NABARD schemes (Producers Organization Development Fund and Rural Infrastructure Development Funds) were also be discussed. Director, RKVY is also invited to give valuable inputs on a focussed approach. NGO PRADAN and JEEViKA Society (NRLM), Bihar shared their experiences with various models ranging from desi birds, low-input technology birds and broilers in a cooperative / Self-Help Group set-up.  Private sector participants from Poultry Federation of India (PFI), National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) and All India Poultry Breeders’ Association (AIPBA)’s views were also taken