Every year, Jammu and Kashmir spends approximately Rs 1,200 crore on imports of poultry-related items. One of the 29 projects approved by the Jammu and Kashmir administration is a roadmap for poultry development in the state. A committee recommended these projects for the holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors worth over Rs 5,000 crore.
"Every year the Union Territory experiences a flight of capital on account of poultry imports to the tune of Rs 1,273 crore. Table eggs account for Rs 473 crore, day-old chicks for Rs 110 crore, poultry feed for Rs 300 crore, and broiler birds for Rs 390 crore," according to Atal Dulloo, additional chief secretary, agricultural production department.
He believes that this is an opportunity to establish local businesses and create jobs for educated youth. "Over the next five years, this project will create 420 enterprises and 4,250 direct jobs," Dulloo added. The agriculture production department has approved a "roadmap for poultry development in J&K" under its mission for holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors in the Union Territory, he said, to put the poultry sector on the path of sustainability and self-reliance.
"The new interventions under the roadmap will increase J&K's poultry sector's gross output from Rs 709 crore to Rs 1,982 crore per year, ensuring that the poultry industry is well-positioned for continued growth and development in the coming years," Dulloo said. According to officials, the Union Territory imports 440 lakh day-old chicks worth Rs 110 crore every year.
To address this, 125 parent breeding farms (each with a 3,000-parent capacity), hatcheries, and in-house feed manufacturing plants will be established over a five-year period, with a production capacity of 4 lakh day-old chicks. "The project encompasses all three verticals in the poultry industry, including producing day-old broiler chicken to feed the broiler industry, establishing layer farms in intensive and free-range mode to meet egg demand, and boosting quality feed manufacture through the establishment of feed processing units," Dr Azmat Alam Khan, Professor in Poultry Sciences, explained.
Similarly, Jammu and Kashmir spends Rs 473 crore per year on table egg imports. These eggs are imported from all over the world and arrive in J&K within 15-30 days of being laid, he added. The project will establish 200-layer farms, each with a 10,000-bird capacity, to produce 60 crore eggs over a five-year period, according to officials. The high cost of feed, which can make production expensive, is one of the main challenges faced by poultry farmers in Jammu and Kashmir, they said.
To address this issue, the approved project has set a target of producing 85,000 metric tonnes of poultry feed in five years by establishing 35 units (7 feed units per year) with a capacity of 1 tonne per hour.
