From cold storage facilities to more hygienic rearing: Poultry Farmers Must Ensure Good Health of their Flock Post COVID19

The domestic poultry industry has lost an estimated Rs 1,750 crore over the past two months as the coronavirus outbreak leads to a slump in consumption and demand. It has forced many small scale poultry farmers to go out of business and even pushed some medium scale poultry farmers to the brink of bankruptcy. This downturn has been exacerbated by a flood of fake messages and misinformation on social media about chicken consumption's association with coronavirus.

- Dr. Ramdas Kambale

While massive losses suffered by our small scale poultry farmers for various reasons cannot be retrieved, it is important that the poultry sector modernize itself and prepare to renew its supplies post the lockdown. It must also be prepared to address misinformation campaigns while improving hygiene and storage standards for its flocks that will help improve the efficacy of the business in the long term. The government must also step forward and help the sector revive itself through relief packages and support to small farmers in restarting their business.

The need for cold storage

The problem of demand slump was further compounded by lack of adequate cold storage facilities for farmers. Many small scale farmers had to resort to distress selling of their birds at prices as low as Rs 5-10 per kg as they did not have logistical support to preserve their meat in cold storage facilities. This meant that the only options for them were to either sell their lot at really cheap prices or cull their birds and bury them. Moreover, 92 percent cold storage units in India are owned by the private sector which mostly includes big companies leaving little safety for small and medium enterprises.

The government must make investment in cold storage for small and medium enterprises so that they can stock their culled birds as well as preserve their meat which can be sold later thereby cutting down their losses. Several large cold storage units that are easily accessible to small scale poultry farmers that they are able rent for specific amount of space as per their needs will be a welcome step for the poultry industry.