Poultry farmers face hard times

Lack of testing facilities at the regional disease diagnostic laboratory the main reason

Despite promises made by the Punjab animal husbandry department to provide better facilities for poultry farm owners, hundreds of poultry farmers are facing many difficulties due to lack of testing facilities at the regional disease diagnostic laboratory (RDDL) here and the closure of the ideal poultry farm run by the laboratory about nine years ago.

The problem started when the regional lab, dealing with the north zone covering Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Rajasthan, closed the poultry farm in 1997. Farmers of the region depended on this farm for the purchase of vaccinated birds.

Consequently, farmers were forced to consult private laboratories in the absence of facilities at the regional lab.

However, H S Sandha of the laboratory said after the success of the poultry farming in the state, there was no need for the government to run the laboratory.

"These days it is more important to educate farmers about new ways of poultry farming than running a farm. We have taken services of employees looking after the poultry farm situated in the lab as trainers to educate farmers by organising training camps at various villages from time to time", he said.

However, sources said authorities closed an ideal revenue generating poultry farm due to lack of funds. "Otherwise, the laboratory was to be run not only for farmers, but also for research work itself."

Jaspal Singh, owner of a poultry farm with around 30,000 birds, said, "We have been forced to consult private laboratories as the regional lab failed to assure us proper diagnosis for our birds in the absence of testing facilities. The testing machines were under-utilised by authorities."

He also negated the authorities' claims vis-à-vis special education programmes to educate farmers. "All that is lip service. No one has ever visited us," rued the poultry farm owners.

Another poultry farmer, Ravinder Singh, a resident of Jandusingha, said before the private laboratories came up, they were totally dependent on the regional laboratory. "The only positive thing is that we dont have to depend only on the facilities provided by the lab," he said.

The problem, he added, was acute for small-scale farmers as it was difficult for them to bear expenses of private laboratories. But he said he was happy with private players as these companies ensured the best health for the birds by visiting twice a week. "This was not possible if you depended only on the regional lab," he added.

"Though private laboratories provide the best facilities, including vaccination of birds, but it is difficult for a small-scale farmer to manage the expenses," says poultry farmer Paramjit Singh. "If we get the facilities at the poultry farm, it will become easy for us," he said.