Poultry sector in trouble

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, Mar 5: Corporate culture and the entry of someinternational players into poultry recently has left thousands of farmersjobless in the three districts of north Andhra. It’s not the Bird Flu butthe entry of MNCs in this sector made 300 poultry farms in north Andhraclose their business.It is estimated that more than 4,000 people, who were dependant on thesefarms till recently, have now turned agricultural labourers to eke outtheir living. The new companies are offering chicken and other poultryproducts at cheaper rates with the newly introduced Integrated system bythem in the farming. “The age old private poultry farming vanishedcompletely. The ancient structure of poultry industry like farmersinvesting for farming and rearing the bird is gone. These big players andinternational firms have disturbed this trend. They are investing moneyand getting bulk work done on contract basis. Now thousands of poultryworkers and farmers are on roads,” said BroMark district president PSeshagiri Rao.Apart from the getting work done on contract basis these big players areadaopting-alluring techniques to encourage traders to sell more and morechicken and other poultry products. These companies are offering trips toforeign countries like Singapore, Malaysia and others, gold coins if theylift 2,000 to 3,000 kilos of chicken each day. These traders are buyingchicken in larger quantities at lesser prices and supplying it to smallershops at competitive prices at which these petty farmers are unable tosupply. “Its not the bird flu scare that affected the poultry industry inthese three districts but unhealthy trend of farming on contract basis,bulk purchases, branding the product, integrated system adapted by somebig players as part of their corporate culture that entered in the fieldand some international players getting in spoiled the entire industry. Noone is coming forward to help us. Our repeated pleas to the governmentfalling on deaf ears, ” said Rao.“I don’t mind whether the chicken is from a private farmer or supplied bya MNC I just see the benefits I get out of it. Apart from good money Ihave an opportunity to visit foreign countries, which I dreamt of them.That’s how I’m selling their chicken,” said a chicken trader who justreturned from a junket to Singapore organized by a Corporate Houserecently.