A poultry processing unit and a hatchery will be started by the Meat Products of India (MPI) at the regional poultry farm of the Animal Husbandry Department at Mundayad here as part of the government’s plan to enhance the capacity of the farm.
The two units, estimated to cost Rs.1 crore, will be set up on a one-acre site inside the farm. An amount of Rs.25 lakh has been set apart in the Plan fund for the project, and the project report has been prepared.
The poultry processing unit is envisaged to have a capacity of processing 5,000 kg of poultry meat a day. The hatchery is planned to produce chicks for sale to local farmers so that the MPI can buy the chickens back for the processing unit.
Agriculture Minister K.P. Mohanan visited the farm on Saturday along with MPI chairman E.J. Augustine and managing director Ani S. Das to discuss the proposal for starting the units. A.P. Abdullakkutty, MLA, accompanied the Minister.
For local people
The Minister said during his visit that the new facilities at the farm were meant to ensure availability of adequate good quality chicken meat and eggs to the people here. The MPI’s ready-to-cook meat in hygienic packages would be available in shops once the meat processing unit here started production, he said.
Mr. Mohanan said the government’s objective was to achieve self-reliance in the production of chicken meat and eggs.
Work on the hatchery and the meat processing unit would be started in three months of the preparation of the detailed project report. The processed chicken from the unit would be available in the market in one year, he said.
The new facilities were expected to enhance the capacity of the poultry farm.
