The Tamil Nadu Poultry Farmers’ Association has urged the State government to take steps to procure eggs for the noon meal centres directly from the poultry farmers.
The members of the Association led by president of the Association A. K. P. Chinraj presented a petition in this regard to District Collector M. Asia Maraiam on Monday.
The Association said that Namakkal, Salem, Erode, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Karur districts accounted for a large number of poultry farms. The industry employed more than one lakh people directly and indirectly.
The industry is badly hit for the past few years due to the repeated drought conditions and non-availability of adequate work force. The poultry farmers had to purchase water by spending a big amount for their farms.
Currently, the government is procuring eggs for the noon meal scheme through private agency, which procures egg at a lower price and providing the same to the centres at a higher price. Due to this, the poultry farmers are not getting adequate price.
Moreover, the poultry farmers also suffer huge monitory loss as the egg price register a downward trend frequently. The petition said that the government till five years ago was procuring eggs directly from the poultry farmers of the respective districts by floating tenders. Currently, both the government and the poultry farmers are suffering heavy financial loss, as the only private agency engaged by it market the eggs at a higher price after procuring the same at a low price.
The Association called upon the government to do away with the practice of engaging private agency for the procurement of eggs and instead procure the same directly from the poultry farmers by floating tenders in the interest of protecting the entire poultry industry.
