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The Tamil Nadu government is planning to promote poultry clusters in seven backward and non-poultry regions in the state, in a bid to encourage more small and medium farmers in the state to take up poultry.
Animal husbandry is a rapidly expanding sector in Tamil Nadu, playing a significant role in the rural economy by providing employment to a large number of small and marginal farmers and landless agricultural labourers, and raising their economic status. Livestock is an important resource next only to family labour for landless agricultural labourers, it being their only major asset.
According to a policy note of the state animal husbandry department, at present, poultry farming on a commercial scale is mostly practised in the western parts of the state, with Namakkal having developed into an egg-laying belt and the Palladam region into a hub for broilers. However, there is good potential for poultry development in other parts of the state, the department says.
Since the poultry industry is restricted to the western belt of the state, the Tamil Nadu government has launched a scheme to develop poultry clusters in the non-poultry, backward regions of the state at a total cost of Rs 22.35 crore.
The policy note says it is proposed to involve the National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (Nabard) and scheduled commercial banks to implement the scheme, which will be integrated with the existing Poultry Venture Capital Fund of the Union government, under which Nabard provides a 25 per cent back-ended subsidy to individuals.
The individual entrepreneur has to raise the remainder of the funds through his own sources or through bank loans. Farmers, individual entrepreneurs and self help groups are eligible.
The intervention of the state government will be in the form of providing a 25 per cent front-ended subsidy for establishing poultry farms. An individual is eligible for availing of the assistance only once for each component. The beneficiaries under this scheme will be provided with five days' training on commercial native poultry rearing through the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University.
Meanwhile, Nabard said banks might encourage contract farming for broiler activity and may provide poultry units with finance for capital investments like sheds and equipment. They might also finance the breeding or rearing of alternative species of poultry (such as quail and duck) and diversified activities under the poultry sector.
The credit potential for poultry development in the state during the current financial year has been estimated at Rs 1,330.65 crore.
Tamil Nadu accounts for 20 per cent of total egg production in India, whose value is likely to touch Rs 9,000 crore by 2015, from the existing level of about Rs 7,500 crore, according to a report by industry body Assocham. About 20,000 million eggs are produced in the state each year.
A survey conducted under the guidelines of the Union government's department of animal husbandry, dairying & fisheries estimated egg production by country birds in the state in 2011-12 at 402 million, and that by improved birds at 11,450 million. Total egg production increased by 2.94 per cent over the previous year.
According to the policy note of the state animal husbandry department, the development of the poultry industry has been achieved by establishing poultry extension centres, which act as demonstration farms and provide training to farmers in poultry-rearing. Most poultry farmers earn anything between Rs 10,000 and Rs 100,000 per month.
