Srinagar, Oct 9: Jammu and Kashmir’s poultry industry is facing a severe crisis, with local production reportedly declining from more than 85 percent of the region’s consumption to around 15 percent, putting the livelihoods of nearly 5.5 lakh people at risk, poultry farmers have said.
In a joint memorandum submitted to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the Kashmir Valley Poultry Farmers Association and the Jammu Poultry Association attributed the decline to successive policy decisions and the failure to introduce an effective alternative after the abolition of toll taxes in 2019.
The associations said the sector, once a major source of employment and entrepreneurship for educated youth, had suffered sustained losses over several years and sought immediate government intervention to revive local poultry farming.
According to the memorandum, doctors, engineers, MBAs and other graduates entered the sector after receiving training from government departments and investing heavily in poultry farms.
“A 10,000-capacity poultry farm involved an investment of around Rs 5 crore to Rs 6 crore, including land, buildings and equipment,” the memorandum stated.
The farmers said the government had earlier constituted a committee to examine the problems confronting the industry. Following its recommendations, a toll of Rs 9 per kilogram on live birds was imposed at Lakhanpur, with the revenue going to the government treasury, they said.
The associations claimed the measure provided crucial marketing support to local farmers and helped increase local production from around 15 percent to more than 85 percent of regional consumption within a few years.
They said farmers subsequently planned to establish hatcheries, feed mills, processing plants and layer farms to strengthen the sector further.
However, the abolition of the toll tax in 2019 dealt a severe blow to the industry, according to the memorandum. The associations claimed that local production had since fallen to around 15 percent again, leaving farmers struggling to sustain their businesses.
They alleged that despite repeated representations and meetings with government functionaries over the past eight years, no effective alternative mechanism had been introduced to protect local poultry farmers.
The associations also raised concerns over the growing presence of outside contract farming companies, alleging that government policies were enabling such companies to rent vacant poultry farms and gain increasing control over the supply chain.
According to the memorandum, these companies had control over hatcheries, feed mills, medicines, manufacturing units and processing or dressing plants, giving them a cost advantage over local farmers and allowing them to sell poultry at rates with which independent producers could not compete.
The farmers further alleged that under contract farming arrangements, companies supplied chicks, feed and medicines while paying farmers labour charges of around Rs 12 to Rs 13 per kilogram.
They claimed that farmers were also being asked to provide signed blank cheques and property-related documents. Deductions could reportedly be made from their payments for excess feed consumption or mortality beyond prescribed limits.
The memorandum said the arrangements had reduced some farmers who had invested crores of rupees in their own farms to what it described as “labour in his own farm”.
Warning of further distress, the associations said that if the government was unable to revive the local poultry industry, it should consider taking over the liabilities of affected farmers and providing them alternative employment rather than allowing their businesses and families to collapse under mounting debt.
They sought the Chief Minister’s urgent intervention and demanded a meeting involving senior government officials, the concerned minister, J&K Bank authorities and directors of the Animal Husbandry departments to work out an immediate solution.
The associations also called for a seminar at SKUAST Shalimar to present the problems faced by poultry farmers to policymakers and discuss measures for reviving the sector.
They maintained that restoring local poultry production was essential not only to protect farmers and their employees but also to reduce Jammu and Kashmir’s dependence on supplies from outside the Union Territory and generate employment opportunities for educated youth.
