Local varieties of heavy weight chicks distributed among rural masses to provide better livelihood in remote areas of Simdega district through the Agriculture Technical Management Agency (ATMA).
Simdega Deputy Commissioner (DC), Sushant Gaurav said that this scheme mainly for women farmers started so that they can start poultry farming with the local breeds of Chicks for nutritional security and other source of income. These Chicks are very suitable for backyard poultry farming and have good potential for meat and egg production, he added.
“We started distribution of local varieties of Chicks to provide another option of livelihood among masses so that aspirational districts like Simdega are one of the most backward districts of the State and there are very few sources of livelihood. Main source of livelihood of the people of the district is farming which is completely dependent on the monsoon. People generally migrate to other districts or States for livelihood due to lack of resources here,” said Gaurav.
The DC added the farmers get training in three stages for where they get awareness about various important aspects of successful poultry farming. During the training programme the experts advised farmers about specific care and management of Chicks till the first month and also prescribed routine nutritional supplementation along with temperature, he added.
Elaborating about the scheme, ATMA Project Director, Krishna Bihari said that the scheme started last year and it will be completed within this year. “The department targeted to provide Chicks of Sonali breed of hen to the people which is very suitable for the local environment and having good potential for egg and meat, ‘’ he added. Out of total 2000 households which are targeted to provide Chicks to the beneficiaries so far 1500 households get the Chicks,” he added.
The Project Director further said that under the scheme one beneficiary gets 50 healthy Chicks along with cage, feeder, drier, medicine and hand holding support. “Total cost of one total system is Rs 40,000 through the Special Central Assistance Fund. It will take three to four month to become fully mature and a beneficiary can get around Rs One lakh after maturity of the Chicks. After maturity of the Chicks their weight will be three to four kilogram and present rate of Chicken meat is Rs 400 per kg,” he added
Bihari added before the distribution of the birds, the farmers were trained by experts in various aspects of poultry housing, brooding, feeding, health and other management. They were also taught about livestock-based integrated systems and encouraged to adopt the model to generate more income, he added.