AJAS
The
THE ASIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE Volume 8 | Issue 2 | December, 2013 | 86-91
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Status and constraints of backyard poultry farming amongst tribal community of Jorhat district in Assam PANKAJ DEKA, RUPAM BORGOHAIN AND BINAPANI DEKA
Author for Correspondence PANKAJ DEKA Krishi Vigyan Kendra (AAU)
Abstract...... The study was conducted at five randomly selected tribal villages of Jorhat district in Assam to identify the various constraints faced by the poultry keepers during the backyard poultry production. The analyses of data revealed that majority of respondents were of medium age group, had middle or primary level of education and lived in medium sized joint family. Agriculture was the major occupation and had medium livestock holding with more than 6 years of poultry farming experience. Poultry rearing was mainly tended by women folks with a flock size of 5-25 birds, reared in semi-intensive system with little supplementary feeding in terms of broken rice, kitchen waste etc. The production level observed was very low. Natural hatching was the main source of chicks. No systematic care was taken with regard to the diseases management and vaccination of the birds was also not carried out in all the villages surveyed. During disease outbreak, an ingenious method of isolating the healthy birds in temporary sheds constructed in the agricultural fields far away from the homestead is prevalent in the area. Direct marketing of birds was prevalent in the study area although middlemen also existed. The study revealed that high incidence of poultry disease, lack of suitable germplasm, non-availability of day old chicks round the year, lack of feed supply and limited scavenging area, lack of technical know-how, attack by predators, poor economic condition of the farmers and weak market linkage were the most serious constraints faced by the farmers. Introduction of hybrid variety suitable for backyard farming, skill up gradation on feeding, housing and disease prevention management, credit linkage and establishment of market linkages can bring about a significant improvement in sustainable poultry production of the down trodden tribal communities in Assam. KEY WORDS...... Constraint, Tribal farmers, Backyard, Rural poultry
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HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE - Deka, Pankaj, Borgohain, Rupam and Deka, Binapani (2013). Status and constraints of
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ARTICLE CHRONICLE - Received : 31.08.2013; Revised : 21.10.2013; Accepted : 11.11.2013
backyard poultry farming amongst tribal community of Jorhat district in Assam. Asian J. Animal Sci., 8(2) : 86-91.
INTRODUCTION.................................................. In India poultry farming under backyard system is as old as its civilization (Randhawa, 1946). Growth of the backyard poultry sector can contribute to enhanced nutrition and poverty reduction in India, because large shares of the rural poor are dependent on backyard poultry for food and income. Omonona and Oni (2004) reported that poultry was one of the quickest ways for rapid increase in protein supply in the short run. Though keeping poultry, especially by the rural poor, is a common practice in India, the system of rearing differs,
depending upon the prevailing agro-ecosystem and the resources available. Recently, the traditional poultry farming in villages, which was the primary source of animal protein, and supplementary income for more than 50 per cent of the population of this country, has suffered in the wake of commercialization (Singh, 2000). No doubt, poultry industrialization in the country in recent two decades has assured the availability of eggs and meat in the urban areas but still backyard poultry production in villages is the primary source of animal protein and supplementary income for rural people. Though, a fraction of the commercial poultry product reaches the villages, it costs rural consumer more than what
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PANKAJ DEKA, RUPAM BORGOHAIN AND BINAPANI DEKA
it costs the urban consumer. Further, the commercial layer farm in North Eastern Region is practically none existing and among the feed ingredients required for commercial poultry farming this region is self-sufficient only on rice polish. For all other feedstuffs like maize, wheat bran, soybean meal, groundnut cake, fish meal, shell grit etc., this region has to depend upon outside supply. Once these feed ingredient reach NER the cost surge up reflecting on high cost of egg production. Hence, under the prevailing conditions, rural poultry production would be the only option for hitting two birds with one stone i.e. mal nutrition and employment generation in the NER. The backyard poultry rearing is a common practice for tribal communities of NER. In Dhekorgorah development block of Jorhat district, more than 90 per cent tribal people are from agricultural background and almost all of these people keep poultry as a supplementary source of income. The farmers evolve low input production system based on their traditional knowledge with locally available resources. No study could be found regarding different constraints faced by the tribal farmers in this region of Assam. Hence, present study was carried out to analyze the status and constraints of poultry production amongst the tribal community in Jorhat distict, Assam.
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS........... The results of the present study as well as relevant discussions have been presented under following sub heads: Profile of the respondents and general information about backyard poultry farming : Age: In the present study, according to the age of the respondents, the poultry keepers were categorized into three groups, i.e., young, medium and old. The data presented in Table 1 reveal that majority of the respondents’ belonged to medium (49%) and young (45%) followed by old age group (6%). Mandal et al. (2006) also reported similar findings. In comparison to old age group, involvement of the young and medium age groups in this sector is conductive to the requirement, since, the younger generation will obviously have more scientific point of orientation and consequently take up more number of technologies. Table 1: Distribution of respondents according to their profile (n=100) Variables
Category
Age
Young (15-25 years)
45
Medium (25-35 years)
49
Old (More than 35 years)
06
Male
0
RESEARCH METHODS..................................... Study area : The study was conducted in Dhekorgorah development block in Jorhat district of Assam. Jorhat district lies at 94.220 E longitude and 26.750 N latitude with altitude 115m MSL. The average annual rainfall is 1810 mm spread from May to October round the year. The normal maximum temperature fluctuates from 25 to 350C whereas minimum temperature fluctuates from 9 to 150C. The study area is situated in the bank of the river Brahmaputra and agricultural land of the tribal community of the region are of Auniati Sotra, Majuli, the biggest river island of the world. The present study was conducted at randomly selected five tribal villages of Deuri and Missing community and from each village, 20 poultry farmers were selected randomly to make a sample size of 100 respondents. Data collection and analysis : The data were collected through a structured questionnaire as well as self observation schedule. The constraints as seeming by respondents were scored on the basis of enormity of the problem. In order to get logical interpretation, the data were compiled, tabulated and subjected to appropriate statistical analysis methods like frequency distribution and percentage. The constraints faced by the poultry owners were ranked further as suggested by Warde et al. (1991).
Gender response
Education
Family type
Family size
Occupation
requency
Female
100
Illiterate
18
Primary
27
Middle
36
High School
13
Graduate and above
06
Nuclear
17
Joint
83
Small (< 5 members)
17
Medium (5-10 members)
64
Large (>10 members)
19
Agriculture
74
Animal husbandry
07
Business
04
Service
01
Labour
14
Gender response: The data presented in Table 1 reveal that 100 per cent of the backyard poultry rearing amongst tribal community were managed by the female members of the family. The women at interview stated self-assuredly that they are the care taker and make decision for consumption as well as Asian. J. Animal Sci., 8(2), Dec., 2013 : 86-91 Hind Institute of Science and Technology
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STATUS & CONSTRAINTS OF BACKYARD POULTRY FARMING AMONGST TRIBAL COMMUNITY OF JORHAT
marketing of their poultry products. Further, the number of females participated in terms of rural poultry production was always higher than males as reported by Nielsen et al. (2003), Ogunlade and Adebayo (2009) and Nath et al.(2012). Education: In the present study, it was observed that majority of the poultry owners had Middle (36%) or Primary level (27%) of education and 18 per cent of poultry owners were illiterate followed by High School level (13%) and graduate or above (6%) category (Table 1). Since education plays a vital role in over all progress of human kind and it accelerates growth and development of any enterprise, to popularize the backyard poultry farming there is a need for making more efforts to bridge the gap of knowledge to motivate the respondents to adopt the newer technologies through providing skill development training programme. Family size/type: In the present study, majority of the poultry owners (83%) of tribal community belonged to joint family, whereas, only 17 per cent belonged to nuclear family. Table 1 reveals that majority of the respondents (64%) had a medium family size. About 19 per cent poultry owners had large family size and 17 per cent fell in the category of small family size. It is evident from the findings of the study that majority of the respondents had a medium family size and were from the joint family. In medium sized joint family, the women folk of the household can easily take up backyard poultry farming as it is an enterprise with low demand on time and labour. Occupation: Table 1 reveals that agriculture provided occupational livelihood to 74 per cent poultry owners, whereas, 14 and 7 per cent respondents earned through labour and animal husbandry, respectively. In the present study, business (4%) and service (1%) provided occupational livelihood to only a few tribal families. In most of the cases in the present study, the families had more than one occupation for their source of income. Thus, this enterprise could prove to be an excellent source of income during the lean periods. When rural food markets are imperfect and the availability and prices of grains and animal protein at market places are unpredictable, backyard poultry farming could serve as an inexpensive device for households to generate highly nutritious food items at minimal cost. Further, when financial markets are imperfect in rural areas, the sale of birds will help to cover recurrent minor expenditures of the rural family, such as school fees, medical fees etc. Poultry farming experience: In the present study, majority of the poultry owners 88
Asian. J. Animal Sci., 8(2), Dec., 2013 : 86-91 Hind Institute of Science and Technology
(51%) had been rearing poultry for more than 6 years, followed by 31 per cent and 16 per cent with 4-6 years and 2-4 years of poultry farming experience, respectively (Table 2). Only 2 per cent poultry owners said that they had been rearing poultry for less than 2 years. The result indicates that in spite of a general tendency to discontinue backyard poultry farming in a locality whenever heavy losses are incurred, but after a gap of time people again thrust into the enterprise. Thus, poultry farming under the backyard system also follows a cyclic trend like the commercial intensive poultry farming. Flock size: It was observed that all the respondents reared coloured non-descript native birds. The rural poultry owners were categorized according to their herd size into three groups, viz., small, medium and large. The findings in the Table 2 reveal that majority of the poultry owners (87%) had small herd size, followed by 13 per cent respondents with medium herd size. In the present study, none of the respondents had large herd size. The smallest and largest flock size reported in the present study was 5 and 25 birds, respectively. The comparatively smaller herd size of the poultry in the present study might be due to lack of commercial hatchery for day old chicks suitable for backyard farming in and around Jorhat district. The tribal community in the present study had 1-5 numbers of pigs of native non-descript as well as Hampshire cross as status symbol which brings in additional income. Table 2:
Distribution of the respondents according to their poultry farming experience and flock size (n=100) Variables Categories Frequency Poultry farming
Less than 2 years
2
experiences
2-4 years
16
4-6 years
31
More than 6 years
51
Small (< 20 birds)
87
Medium (20-50 birds)
13
Large (> 50 birds)
0
Flock size
System of rearing/housing: The residential house of Deuri and Missing tribal community have unique characteristic, i.e., raised platform type house made of locally available material like bamboo, wood etc. In the present study, all the poultry owners made common housing arrangement for their birds of all age groups below their own residential house. The birds were reared under semi-intensive system and in addition to scavenging, in the evening all the poultry owners offered a handful of broken rice, kitchen waste, leafy vegetables etc. to their birds and housed at night to protect them from
PANKAJ DEKA, RUPAM BORGOHAIN AND BINAPANI DEKA
predators and extreme environmental condition. None of the respondent followed the intensive system of poultry farming (Table 3). In the present study, the source of drinking water was the open drain and stagnant water. Similar type of rearing system in backyard poultry farming was also reported by Singh and Johari (1990) and Mandal (2012). Table 3:Distribution of the respondents according to managemental system of poultry rearing (n=100) Variables Categories Frequency System of rearing
Free range Semi intensive Intensive
Feeding
Kitchen waste/broken rice/leafy vegetables Commercial feed
Litter
Provided
material
Did not provide
Health care
0 100 0 100 0 0 100
Vaccination
0
Deworming
0
watering and disease management of their flocks reflect the poor knowledge of the rural people. This needs to be rectified and technology of scientific housing, chicks management, disease control, production of maggots and earthworms etc. to be transferred to the rural tribal community. The tribal farmers of the area were interested in traditional method of poultry rearing as it does not require much care, labour, time and investment. Source of chicks: All the poultry owners reported that natural hatching was the main source of chicks where desi broody hens were used as natural incubator (Table 4). In the present study, housewives were engaged for caring of broody hens by providing them nesting place, food and water till hatching. However, at certain period of time, respondents also collected grown up chicks from local market or neighbourers/relatives. None of the poultry owners purchased their chicks from commercial hatcheries.
Isolation of healthy bird during outbreak
100
Treated diseases by self
56
Table 4: Distribution of respondents according to source of chicks (n=100) Source Frequency
Treated diseases by Ojha (Village expert)
44
Natural hatching
100
Treated diseases by Veterinarian
0
Neighbourers/relatives
36
Local market
15
Commercial hatcheries
0
A perusal of Table 3 shows that 100 per cent of the respondents did not provide any litter material for their birds. Mandal et al. (2006) also reported similar findings where 93.75 per cent of backyard poultry keepers did not provide litter material for their birds. Health care: In the present study, not a single backyard poultry owner practiced deworming and vaccination of the birds. Similar findings were also reported by Khandait et al. (2011). Further, the poultry owners were not much worried about disease aspect of the birds, Table 3 clearly indicates that, majority of the respondents treated their sick birds either by themselves (56%) or by Ojha/village expert (44%). In the present study, none of the poultry farmers had ever consulted to a veterinarian for treatment or post mortem examination of diseased bird which was also reported by Kumaresan et al. (2008). During disease outbreak, an ingenious method of isolating the healthy birds in temporary sheds constructed in the agricultural fields far away from the homestead is prevalent in the area. Training: In the present study, none of the poultry owners received any training in backyard poultry farming. The poor managemental practices in terms of housing, feeding,
Productive performance: The productive performance of the native birds in the area is given in Table 5. As per the respondents, their native chickens attain sexual maturity at an age of 7-8 month with an annual egg production of 48-62 eggs/hen. The average body weight at 6, 12 and 18 months of age were recorded 450-500 g, 900-1100 g and 1500-1800 g, respectively. In addition to genetic capability of the native bird, the low level of production might be due to poor nutrition of the bird. Table 5: Production performance of native bird in the area Economic traits Results Age of sexual maturity (month) Annual egg production (Nos/bird) Body weight at 6 month (g)
7-8 48-62 450-500
Body weight at 12 month (g)
900-1100
Body weight at 18 month (g)
1500-1800
Marketing/consumption of eggs and birds: As shown in Fig.1 chickens were kept mainly for meat, eggs and as a source of income. The majority of the rural women at interview said poultry meat had improved their diet (48%), entertainment of special guests (30%) and income generation to buy other necessities (22%). In order Asian. J. Animal Sci., 8(2), Dec., 2013 : 86-91 Hind Institute of Science and Technology
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STATUS & CONSTRAINTS OF BACKYARD POULTRY FARMING AMONGST TRIBAL COMMUNITY OF JORHAT
was reported by all the respondents, followed by, low production potential of native birds (91%), low hatchability/ early chick mortality/ non -vailability of day old chicks round the year (84%), lack of financial support (67%), lack of technical know- how (52%), lack of feed ingredient (34%), weak market linkage (30%) and attack of predators (13%) were the most serious constraints reported by the farmers.
Hatching
Cash
Guest entertainmant Own diet
Table 7:
Fig. 1: Distribution of respondents according to consumption of egg and meat
of importance, eggs were used for hatching (72%), consumption (21%) and sale (7%). In the present study, the average selling price of eggs of coloured bird was Rs.6.5 per egg, whereas, in case of birds the average selling price was Rs.200/kg. Rangnekar and Rangnekar (1996) also reported that desi birds or look alike of desi birds definitely fetch more prices both for eggs as well as meat. The data presented in the Table 6 clearly show that majority of the poultry owners (71.15%) marketed the eggs and meat at own home. Only, 19.23 per cent and 9.62 per cent poultry owners stated that they sold the eggs to Feriwala and at village market, respectively. Table 6 : Distribution of respondents according to marketing channel of eggs (n=52)
Place
No of respondents
Percentage
At home
37
71.15
Feriwala
10
19.23
Local market
5
9.62
Constraints faced by tribal community in rural poultry farming: The constraints as perceived by the rural tribal community in terms of poultry rearing were recorded in the schedule prepared for the purpose of the study (Table 7). In the present study, mortality due to high incidence of disease
Responses to constraints faced by tribal community in backyard poultry farming (n=100) Constraints Frequency Rank Mortality due to disease outbreak
100
I
Low production performance of native birds
91
II
Low hatchability
84
III
Early chick mortality
84
III
Non availability of day old chicks round the year
84
III
Lack of financial support
67
IV
Lack of technical know-how
52
V
Lack of feed ingredients
34
VI
Weak market linkage
30
VII
Attack of predators
13
VIII
Conclusion : In order to overcome the constraints there is need for introduction of hybrid variety suitable for backyard farming, skill upgradation on feeding, housing and disease prevention management, availability of day old chicks establishing hatchery in district level, development of mother unit of hybrid variety in block level to supply grown up chicks for the farmer round the year, credit linkage and establishment of market linkages can bring about a significant improvement in sustainable poultry production of the down trodden tribal community of Jorhat district of Assam. COOPTED AUTHORS’ – BORGOHAIN RUPAM AND DEKA BINAPANI, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (A.A.U.) JORHAT (ASSAM) INDIA
LITERATURE CITED.......................................... Khandait, V.N., Gawande, S.H., Lohakare, A.C. and Dhenge, S.A. (2011). Adoption level and constraints in backyard poultry rearing practices at Bhandra district of Maharashtra (India). Res. J. Agric. Sci., 2(1):110-113. Kumaresan, A., Bujarbaruah, K.M., Pathak, K.A., Chettri, B., Ahmed, S.K. and Haunshi, S. (2008). Analysis of a village chicken production system and performance of improved dual purpose chickens under a sub-tropical hill agro eco-system in India. Trop. Anim. Health. Prod., 40 (6): 395-402. Mandal, M.K., Khandekar, N. and Khandekar, P. (2006). Backyard poultry farming in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh, India: an analysis. Liv. Res. Rural Dev., 18(7): Nath, B.G., Pathak, P.K. and Mohanty, A.K. (2012). Constraints analysis of poultry production at Dzongu area of North Sikkim in India. Indian J. Appl. Sci., 2(4): 397-401. Nielsen, H., Roos, N. and Thilsted, S.H. (2003). The impact of semi-scavenging poultry production of the consumption of animal source food by women and girls in Bangladesh. J. Nutr., 133 (11): 4027-4030.
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PANKAJ DEKA, RUPAM BORGOHAIN AND BINAPANI DEKA
Ogunlade, I. and Adebayo, S.A. (2009). Socio economic status of women in rural poultry production in selected areas of Kwara state, Nigeria. Internat. J. Poult. Sci., 8 (1): 55-59. Omonona, B.T. and Oni, O.A. (2004). Economics of table egg production in Ibadan Metropolis, Oye State, Nigeria. Trop. J. Anim. Sci.,7(2): 6273. Randhawa, M.S. (1946). Role of domesticated animals in Indian history, Sci.& Cul., 12(1). Rangnekar, D. and Rangnekar, S. (1996). Traditional poultry production system - A need for fresh look from rural development perspective. Proc. XX World’s. Poult. Cong, 2-5 September, NEW DELHI, INDIA. pp.405-408. Singh, D.P. (2000). Thrills and challenges for backyard poultry production. Proc. of recent adv. rural poult. farming, 7-16 October,2000 CARI, IZATNAGAR. Singh, D.P. and Johari, D.C. (1990). Kadaknath the native fowl needs to be conserved. Indian Farm., 29-32. Warde, P.N., Bhople, R.S. and Choudhury, D.P. (1991). Adoption of dry land horticulture technology. Maharashtra J. Extn. Edu. 10(2): 108.
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