Kashmir poultry sector in slump
Stakeholders demand industrial status, insurance cover to prevent further decay
The Valley-based poultry farmers today accused the successive state governments of ignoring this sector. The farmers demanded that industrial status be restored to this sector to protect the interests of the stakeholders.
The farmers said they had some expectations with the PDP-led government in Jammu and Kashmir, but they too “have shown no concern for this sector.”
Talking to us, Kashmir Valley Poultry Farmers Association, G M Bhat said they were disappointed by the state government and by its budget which “has totally neglected the poultry sector.”
“For some unknown reasons the previous government abolished the industrial status to poultry sector. Our demand is that government should immediately restore this status to poultry farming,” Bhat said, adding that they were hopeful that the state government would announce this in the budget but that was not the case.
He said the budget 2015-16 had nothing to offer to the poultry sector. “Despite the poultry sector providing livelihood to more than 5 lakh people in Kashmir, the state government adopted discriminatory approach against the sector,” Bhat said, adding that neither the industrial nor the agricultural status had been restored to poultry sector.
He said that post-floods poultry sector was in doldrums due to various reasons. “First, the deluge completely wiped out many poultry farms. Then the rumor that swine flu affected the poultry also, which was totally wrong, hit the poultry business in Kashmir resulting in huge losses to the farmers.”
He said the poultry farmers in Kashmir had time and again urged the government to provide insurance cover to all the activities of poultry farming.
The farmers accused the state government and authorities of failing to ban the import of layer birds which had been scientifically proved to be harmful for human consumption. “State government should immediately ban the import of layer birds. These birds are used as Dog Food in other states, but here they are being sold for human consumption,” he said.
Bhat said in order to promote local poultry industry the government had previously imposed tax on birds imported to the Valley. “However, some unscrupulous elements in connivance with some local dealers are importing dressed birds (instead of live birds) to evade tax,” he said.
“To protect the local industry, government should immediately impose ban on dressed meat,” he said.
The poultry farmers also urged the government to decontrol the rates of poultry.
