National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), the apex body of poultry farmers consisting of more than 25,000 members, mostly small and marginal farmers, has appealed to the Government of India to allot at least 2 million tons of damaged wheat, paddy and/or broken rice which are unfit for human consumption, for use in poultry feed as a partial substitute for maize whose price has sky rocketed causing hardship for farmers.
NECC in a statement said that during the past one year, there has been a significant increase in the price of maize due to various reasons which are beyond the control of farmers. These include increased volume of exports and diversion of significant volumes of maize for production of bio-fuel in Bihar which is a major maize-producing State.
The price of maize in the domestic market has increased from ₹18,000 per ton to approximately ₹25,000 per ton currently and is expected to increase further to ₹30,000 per ton, NECC said.
“Due to such increase in maize price, the average cost of production has gone up from ₹4 per egg last year, to ₹4.75-₹5 currently. However, the average farm gate price is hovering around ₹3.50 per egg, thus resulting in a net loss of ₹1.50 to ₹1.75 per egg for the farmers,” NECC said.
Unable to withstand such continuous losses, thousands of small and marginal farmers, and even breeders have already shut down or suspended or scaled down their operations, it said.
“Most of the farmers and breeders are on the verge of insolvency,” it added.
“Under these circumstances partial substitution of maize with other cheaper commodities is the only viable option to help the farmers to retain their means of livelihood, as well as to ensure that eggs and chicken would continue to be available to the poorer sections of the consumers at an affordable price,” it further said.
