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By: R. MANIMEKALAI

IS POULTRY FARM BUSINESS WORTH DOING?

The inputs required for poultry farming are available locally in rural areas. Also, starting 

poultry units requires small land and less capital. So it can turn out to be a regular source of 

income for the rural population.

reach a target of 180 eggs and 9 kg 

of meat per capita annual consump-

tion—the level recommended by

the National Institute of Nutrition

(NIN) and the Indian Council of 

Medical Research. It would require

almost three million additional com-

mercial birds and eight million broil-

ers to increase the egg and meat per

capita availability by one and ten

grams, respectively.Today, layer units of 100,000

birds and above under the cage sys-

tem are common. India produces

40,000 million eggs and 1200 million

broilers annually. More than 100,000

poultry farms of varying size rang-

ing from few birds exist in rural and

tribal areas of the country. There

are about 123,000 poultry farmers

in India. The value of output from

the poultry sector is nearly Rs 330

billion and there are 300,000 poultryfarms in India.

India has emerged as the fourth

largest producer of eggs and ninth

largest producer of poultry meat in

the world. Andhra Pradesh, Maha-

rashtra, Haryana and Tamil Nadu

are the major egg-producing states.

These states accounted for more than

50 per cent of the eggs produced in

the country. Andhra Pradesh ranks

first in egg production, being the egg 

basket of India. ICAR is playing a vi-

Poultry farming has

occupied an impor-

tant place in the In-

dian economy. With the

fast-food culture an

accepted feature, poultry farming is

playing a greater role in the eatery

business in India. It has emerged as

the fastest growing segment in the

agri-livestock industry.

Poultry development has not only

grown in size but also in productiv-

ity. The annual growth rate is 10 per

cent in egg production and 15-20 per

cent in broiler production. This has

been possible due to the availability

of infrastructure facilities including 

birds, quality feed, modern automat-

ic systems in poultry houses, etc.

Poultry farming is aiming to

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OCTObeR 2010 • FACTS FOR YOU 17

The poultry business has also given rise to many 

subsidiary industries such as compounded feed,

equipment, pharmaceuticals, hatchery operation and

processing of poultry products.

tal role in developing new technolo-

gies for optimising poultry produc-

tion in the country by undertaking 

research at its own institutes and

agricultural universities. The WorldHealth Organization (WHO) consid-

ers egg as the best protein food for

human beings.

Importance of poultry production

Poultry farming plays an effec-

tive role in rural development as it

helps the rural population earn reg-

ular income. The inputs required for

poultry farming are available locallyin rural areas. Simple equipment

for feeding, watering and sheltering 

for small units can be manufactured

with locally available materials in

the villages with the help of local

artisans. Land required for starting 

poultry units is small. Also, poultry

farming needs less amount of capi-

tal.

Poultry production in India is

recognised as an organised and

scientifically based industry and a potential tool to fight poverty and

malnutrition. Nowadays the poul-

try sector is gaining tremendous im-

portance in India to meet the grow-

ing protein demand of millions of 

people. Due to the growth of man-

power in this sector, its importance

among the rural population has also

increased. It can be started either

as a subsidiary or a main business.

The poultry business has also given

rise to many subsidiary industriessuch as compounded feed, equip-

ment, pharmaceuticals, hatchery

operation and processing of poultry

products. Poultry droppings give

very good manure for crops. It also

serves as the source of raw materi-

als for industrial products.

Employment potential

Poultry farming provides direct

and indirect employment to about

1.5 million people. Some business-

men and professionals have entered

the field. More women are employed

in poultry farming as well as in mar-

keting of eggs. Poultry keeping pro-vides employment not only for those

who are engaged in the production

of eggs and chicken meat but also

for hatchery operators, feed dealers,

providers of building materials, egg 

cases and trucks, processors of egg 

and poultry products and all dealers

engaged in the marketing of eggs.

Nutritional security 

Protein deficiency is common ininfants and growing children in a 

large section of the society living be-

low poverty line. India’s name comes

at the top in the list of countries fac-

ing severe nutrition problem. The

diets of the pre-school children are

also inadequate both in terms of 

quantity and quality. Diseases re-

lated to deficiency of protein and vi-

tamins are particularly high among 

these children.

Egg is a good source of nutritious

food for all ages because of high pro-

tein and is easily digestible. Taking the nutritive value of egg into ac-

count, the Tamil Nadu government

provides eggs for school children un-

der mid-day meals programme. An

Indian’s daily diet contains much

less protein as against the minimal

requirement. The National Institute

of Nutrition (NIN) recommends

that a balanced ration should con-

tain about half an egg per day. Egg 

and poultry meat consumption can

supplement nutritional deficiency

and ensure food security.

Consumption pattern

Poultry and poultry products atpresent command a major share of 

food of animal origin produced and

consumed in the country because of 

their cost-effectiveness, easy avail-

ability, superior protein quality and

wider acceptance by all sections

of the society irrespective of caste,

creed and religion. Increase in con-

sumption has resulted in increased

demand and consequently produc-

tion.

Poultry egg and meat, in recent  years, have become important and

popular food for 68 per cent of the

non-vegetarian population of the

country. Their consumption is in-

creasing day by day. Eggs and poul-

try meat are less costly, and therefore

middle-class people are willing to

improve their nutritional standards

with poultry meat and egg. With

rapid increase in the middle-income

population, urbanisation, industri-

alisation and changing socio-cultur-

al habits, the demand for processed

poultry products is increasing fast inIndia.

The average per capita consump-

tion is about 34 eggs and 600 grams

of poultry meat a year. However, the

quantity recommended by the Na-

tional Institute of Nutrition is 180

eggs per capita and 11 kg of all meat.

The urban population, which has

high purchasing power, consumes

more eggs and meat. It is estimated

that 25 per cent of India’s total pop-

ulation, which lives in urban areas,

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18 FACTS FOR YOU • OCTObeR 2010

consumes 75 per cent of eggs and

meat produced in the country.

Marketing 

Marketing is the key to develop

the industry. It is estimated that 75-

80 per cent of eggs and broilers are

sold through the unorganised mar-

ket without giving due importance

to the cost of production. Today,

the marketing of poultry products

in India is largely in the hands of 

wholesalers. Barely 5 per cent of the

production is marketed directly by

the producer. The lack of organisedmarketing and seasonal fluctuations

in demand do not ensure remunera-

tive prices for the producer.

Export of poultry products

Indian poultry farmers are real-

ising that production and promotion

of high-quality products is the key to

success. Concerted efforts need to be

undertaken so as to maximise food

safety, both from the point of view of 

protecting public health and ensur-

ing compliance with global trade re-

quirements.

Poultry farming also has a tre-mendous potential of contributing 

to the foreign exchange earnings

of the country by way of increased

exports of poultry and poultry prod-

ucts. Poultry products valued at Rs

150 million have been exported to

Gulf countries, Bangladesh and the

Philippines. During 2000-01, India 

exported poultry products valued at

Rs 861.8 million to other countries. 

India exports a variety of poultry

products like eggs, hatching eggs,egg powder, frozen egg yolk, frozen

poultry and poultry meat to Europe,

  Japan, Maldives, Oman and other

countries.

Problems inpoultry business

Lack of research on breeding and

management, absence of full-time

practical training programmes on

the pattern of industrial training in-

stitute for training 

the personnel in the

poultry industry,

improper packing,

transport problems,lack of storage facil-

ities leading to un-

certainties in main-

taining the quality

of eggs, lack of or-

ganised marketing 

facilities, high feed

cost, lack of disease

control measures,

high cost of labour,

emergence of new

disease and highcost of medication,

and dependence on

middlemen for sup-

ply and disposal of 

poultry products

are the major prob-

lems faced by the

farmers.

Scope for improvement

There is a further scope for de-velopment of the poultry sector

with certain changes in the present

status. The fast growing domestic

and export markets for poultry and

poultry products need an effective

infrastructure in the country. Crea-

tion of retail outlets in abundance

is necessary. Many modern poultry

processing units have to be started.

The poultry scientists have to be in-

novative for constantly improving 

the genetic capacity of the birds, effi-ciency of the feed utilisation, ability

to sustain climatic stresses, and in-

creased resistance to diseases. Policy

interventions are required to protect

and improve the poultry farming in

India against uneven competition by

developed countries.

The author is an associate professorin Department of Economics at Nehru

  Memorial College, Puthanampatti,Trichy district