Sonali chicken a game changer for Joypurhat farmers

The poultry industry in Rajshahi's Joypurhat district has grown expeditiously over the past two decades thanks to the breakthrough breeding of Sonali chicken, a cross-breed of Rhode Island Red cocks and Fayoumi hens.

This breed of chicken caters to about 50 per cent of the country's demand for poultry meat and eggs while the industry as a whole has created many job opportunities for previously unemployed youths in the country.

Under the supervision of the Joypurhat Department of Livestock Services, Sonali chickens were first bred about 21 years ago at the Chicken Breeding Development Farm in Jamalpur union, now known as the poultry capital of the district.

Nani Gopal Barman, the farm's deputy director, said Joypurhat was once the most poverty-stricken district in the country.

"But Sonali chicken has brought a revolutionary change," he added.

Md Shah Jamal, former deputy director of the Chicken Breeding Development Farm, said he worked hard to persuade local youths to engage in poultry farming.

As such, the youths were given training and two decades later, poultry farming has become a Tk 30,000 crore industry in Joypurhat, where around 2.5 lakh youths are engaged with the business.

Besides, this success has turned Sonali chicken into an official brand, Jamal said.

According to officials of the livestock department in Joypurhat, there are 11,570 large and small-scale poultry farms in the district that were dedicated to producing meat while 360 others were layer farms, which also focus on egg production.

These farms collectively produce about 1.25 lakh tonnes of poultry meat annually against a local demand of 6,000 tonnes.

So, the rest is sold to other districts, they said.

Meanwhile, the 360 layer farms produce 39 crore eggs annually against a local demand of 9.88 crore while the rest is shipped elsewhere.

There are also 52 large-scale incubator factories that hatch 8.50 crore chicks annually alongside 11 feed factories in Joypurhat, where 6.25 crore chicks are bought for rearing each year.

"Everything is set up as a combined factory," said Anwarul Haq Anu, president of the Joypurhat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) and a poultry entrepreneur.

During a visit to the district's Jamalganj village last Tuesday, this correspondent found that more than one lakh Sonali chickens were being reared in hundreds of multistorey buildings all around.

Such farms are also available in many other nearby districts and as such, Sonali chicken farming has turned into a widespread practice.

However, the coronavirus-induced economic downturn brought the industry's growth rate to a crashing halt.

At least 2,000 small or marginal farms have closed permanently after failing to survive the hardships brought on by Covid-19 as the industry suffered a collective loss of Tk 300 crore.

Monsur Rahman of Jamalganj village said he built a farm 15 years ago. He had been getting good returns since then but ultimately suffered a Tk 3 lakh loss due to Covid-19.

According to the farmer, he was forced to sell off 4,000 Sonali chickens for just Tk 130 per kilogramme (kg) in a bid to recoup production costs.

The situation was similar for other farmers.

Mansur Rahman, another poultry farmer, said he received Tk 9,500 as cash support from the government but this amount was insufficient to resume operations as he needs Tk 10 lakh to restart his farm.

Likewise, this correspondent found that many other small-scale farms were practically empty.

Many farmers said they have been trying to secure sufficient loans to resume their businesses as the coronavirus situation has improved since September 1.

Ahsan Kabir, owner of Ahsan Traders, a poultry farm at Jamalganj village, said his farm has the capacity to accommodate 40,000 chickens but he reduced that number to 26,000 in a bid to evade losses.

Besides, feed costs were high during the nationwide lockdown phase and Kabir suffered losses of Tk 3.5 crore during that period. But despite these hardships, he received just Tk 22,500 in cash support from the government.

Kamrul Islam Shahin, manager of Kabir's farm, said many farms of marginal entrepreneurs had closed as their investment got stuck during the pandemic.

JCCI President Anwarul Islam Anu said the industry faced enormous losses due to Covid-19 while suggesting that ensuing easy access to bank loans could help solve the problem.

"It is not possible to stay afloat without support," he added.

Saiful Alam, owner of Shefali Poultry Farm Limited in Jamalganj village, said he had never before seen such a crisis since founding his farm in 2000. He has seven buildings, each with six floors, to accommodate more than one lakh Sonali chickens.

Saiful said he also suffered losses of Tk 5 crore amid the pandemic.

Mizanur Rahman, another manager, said they sold chicks at Tk 2 per piece and eggs at Tk 5 per piece during the lockdown.

Dr Md Mahfuzar Rahman, deputy livestock officer of Joypurhat, said Tk 9.82 crore had been given as cash incentive to 5,090 farmers.

The industry also suffered such losses during a previous spread of bird flu, he added.

On the other hand, the chicken meat and egg production costs have increased over the years for various reasons, including the high price of feed, farmers said.

Besides, the rearing duration has also increased. The Sonali chicks used to take 50 days for them to be full-grown but now it takes 60 to 65 days, which is not cost-effective, Mizanur said.

Besides, diseases of the chicken also increased, which raises medical costs. "It is happening just for the quality loss of parent chicken," he said.

Monsur, another farmer, echoed him.

Farmers need quality parents for getting better production. The government has taken no steps to make quality parents available since Soali chicken breeding began, said Monsur.

Nani Gopal Barman, deputy director of Chicken Breeding Development Farm, agreed, saying that the parent chickens had lost their quality for inbreeding in the last couple of years, which increases production cost.

He said Sonali chickens were found from the inbreeding of male and female chicken from Egypt and England.

"Government has already formed a committee in this regard," he added.

Getting quality feed is also a problem, farmers said.

The farmers demanded that the district livestock office monitor the poultry feed markets in the district for the sake of the industry. Disease is on the rise due to the substandard feed, which raises the production cost.

There is a rising trend on the use of antibiotics.

They also demanded to set up a processing plant in Joypurhat to enable exports. However, the chicken meat of Joypurhat has yet to get access to the international market.

Dr Md Mahfuzar Rahman, the district livestock officer, said they produced feed which was allowed to be sold after tests every 15 days. "We are getting such complaints," he said.

Five per cent of losses can be reduced if everything is appropriately managed. Besides, the district livestock office is working to discourage farmers from using antibiotics.

"We are working on getting the GI status of Sonali chicken," he said.