With a capacity of 8,000 chicken a week, the Kudumbashree’s Kerala Chicken project is making steady progress in the district. Its fifth outlet in the district will be inaugurated in Kollayil panchayat soon.
Since its launch a few years ago with the objective of bringing quality chicken to consumers, the Kerala Chicken project has undergone quite a few changes. Introduced in association with the Animal Husbandry Department, it involved providing day-old chicks from Kepco (Kerala State Poultry Development Corporation) and the agency buying the poultry back at a fair price when the birds are nearly 45 days old.
Kudumbashree then launched Kudumbashree Broiler Farmer Producer Company Ltd. to link all stages of the project, from production to sales. Steps were taken to make available broiler chicken under the brand name Kerala Chicken through branded marketing outlets.
Today, there are four such outlets in the district at Nagaroor, Venjaramoodu, Pullampara, and Tholicode. Nearly 2,500 chicken are sold through these outlets and the remaining through the outside market.
32 farms now
Thirty-two farms in the district have signed agreement with the Kudumbashree for the integrated farming project. Day-old chicks are provided to the farms by Kudumbashree Broiler Farmer Producer Company Ltd. Food and medicine are also supplied by the company. After 40-45 days, the birds are bought back by the company and the farmers are paid as per the feed conversion ratio (FCR). Farmers can earn anywhere between ₹4 to ₹13 on 1 kg of chicken, say Kudumbashree officials.
Low-interest loans
Loans of ₹1.5 lakh at 4% interest for two years are also provided to the farmers as community investment fund. The Kudumbashree is targeting launch of 50 farms in the district this year, says Kudumbashree district mission coordinator K.R. Shaiju.
