Kudumbasree’s broiler chicken production project is all set to be rolled out in the district with financial assistance to be distributed this week to 20 out of the 116 members identified for the project.
Rs. 1-lakh aid
The Kudumbasree Mission offers Rs. 1 lakh to beneficiaries through community development societies (CDSs) repayable in a year at an interest rate of 4%.
“To begin with, we have identified Kudumbasree members who are already into poultry farming and have the requisite licence from the local body concerned and necessary infrastructure. In the meantime, we are also inviting new applications through CDSs,” said a district Kudumbasree Mission official in charge of the project. Each unit will be provided 1,000 chicks each under the programme and will need 66 cents going by the estimate of one cent for 15 birds.
Licence
Every farm rearing more than 100 birds are required to take licence as per the Panchayat Livestock Farm Licensing Rules 2012.
The Kudumbasree Mission also plans to identify locations for stalls to sell chicken being produced under the project. It would be done by the time the chicks given to Kudumbashree units turn into adult birds, said the official.
The project is being implemented in association with the Kerala State Poultry Development Corporation (Kepco), Animal Husbandry Department, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University and Local Self-Government Department. Apart from providing another avenue for a steady income to Kudumbashree members, the programme aims at ensuring safe and clean chicken for consumers at reasonable prices while guaranteeing a steady and non-fluctuating market price for broiler chicken.
The pilot project is already under way in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Pathanamthitta districts where Kepco had already distributed chicks and taken back the first lot of adult birds for processing at its plant.
“Birds from units in districts up to Ernakulam, Kottayam and Thrissur are likely to be processed at the processing unit of Koothattukulam-based Meat Products of India since Kepco has only a sole processing unit at Thiruvananthapuram,” Vinod John, managing director of Kepco, told The Hindu .
Against malpractices
Kepco has devised a strategy to ensure that the chicks supplied to Kudumbashree units are not subjected to malpractices compromising the very purpose of ensuring safe, clean and healthy meat. “Both the feed fed to the birds and the processed meat will be randomly inspected at the regional analytical laboratory and the Livestock and Marine Products Inspection-Cum-Certification Laboratory at Maradu,” said Mr. John.
We have identified Kudumbasree members who are already into poultry farming and have the requisite licence from the local body concerned
Kudumbasree Mission official
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