Introduction to KashmirForum.org Blog

I launched the website and the Blog after having spoken to government officials, political analysts and security experts specializing in South Asian affairs from three continents. The feedback was uniformly consistent. The bottom line is that when Kashmiris are suffering and the world has its own set of priorities, we need to find ways to help each other. We must be realistic, go beyond polemics and demagoguery, and propose innovative ideas that will bring peace, justice and prosperity in all of Jammu and Kashmir.

The author had two reasons to create this blog. First, it was to address the question that was being asked repeatedly, especially, by journalists and other observers in the U.S., U.K., and Canada, inquiring whether the Kashmiri society was concerned about social, cultural and environmental challenges in the valley given that only political upheaval and violence were reported or highlighted by media.

Second, the author has covered the entire spectrum of societal issues and challenges facing Kashmiri people over an 8-year period with the exception of politics given that politics gets all the exposure at the expense of REAL CHALLENGES that will likely result in irreversible degradation in the quality of life and the standard of living for future generations of Kashmiris to come.

The author stopped adding additional material to the Blog once it was felt that most, if not all, concerns, challenges and issues facing the Kashmiri society are cataloged in the Blog. There are over 1900 entries in the Blog and most commentaries include short biographical sketches of authors to bring readers close to the essence of Kashmir. Unfortunately, the 8-year assessment also indicates that neither Kashmiri civil society, nor intellectuals or political leadership have any inclination or enthusiasm in pursuing issues that do not coincide with their vested political agendas. What it means for the future of Kashmiri children and their children is unfathomable. But the evidence is all laid out.

This Blog is a reality check on Kashmir. It is a historical record of how Kashmir lost its way.

Vijay Sazawal, Ph.D.
www.kashmirforum.org

Friday, September 7, 2012

Increasing Employment in the Poultry Sector

Altaf says that middlemen are making a killing at the cost of farmers

(Dr. Syed Mohammad Altaf Gilani, 45, was born in Srinagar. He attended the DAV School, Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar, and graduated from the Islamia College of Science and Commerce, Srinagar and the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, SKUAST-K, Srinagar, and ICAR, New Delhi. Dr. Gilani is a Veterinarian (Poultry Consultant), working with the J&K Animal Husbandry Department. In his leisure time, he enjoys Writing, Watching Hollywood Classics.)


Fighting Exploitation in the Poultry Trade

The poultry industry in this part of the world is in the process of taking shape. The consumption is huge and the growth is upbeat. Though still unorganized, if tackled timely and effectively and given an appropriate course can figure as the corner stone of the economy and a founding of a vibrant and versatile industry.


At the moment, the sector is being dominated by the commercial broiler farms being established in every nook and corner of the Valley. About 4500 in number, these farms are responsible for rearing of 300 lakh viable broilers per year. Another 150 lakh broilers and culls are being imported from outside the State. The overwhelmingly non-vegetarian eating habits of the Valley dwellers contribute towards the using up of more than one lakh birds on daily basis.

Under the present system, a poultry entrepreneur puts in lots of efforts in rearing of the stocks as per the technical norms. The maintenance of proper space, temperature, ventilation, biosecurity, medication and vaccination is being undertaken appropriately besides feeding and provision of ample potable water for the birds. A close rapport is being maintained with the experts of the Animal Husbandry Department for tackling any eventuality of a disease outbreak. When the stocks attain the marketable weight, the real ordeal of the entrepreneur begins.

Although the imports of the commercial broiler stocks are dwindling, the impact on the local market is huge. The poultry dealers who act as middlemen between the farmers and the retailers spoil the whole broth. Their greed to earn more bucks in a short time prefer outside poultry stocks than the local ones. Reason being that the stocks transported from outside are under starvation during transshipment and as soon as unloaded into their godowns are fed heavily for the quick weight gains as these starved birds eat full. The consumer gets cheated when the retailer weighs the bird on the weighing scale and pays unknowingly for the feed in the crop at the rate of the live bird.

Sometimes there arises a situation when the dealer has to lift the birds from the local farmers and the trading between the two parties shall throw sufficient light on the exploitation by the middlemen. While negotiating the rates, the dealer offers at least Rs. 5 per kilo gram of live broiler less than the rates at which he can get the same commodity from the dealer importing from outside the State. Another condition is being put around by the dealer that the birds shall be lifted in the morning only if kept off-feed and off-water overnight. While weighing the consignment, still a deduction of 1 per cent in the total weight is being made on the pretext of weight loss. Interestingly, the poultry farmer does not get cash for its produce but is presented a post-dated cheque having a minimum of 15 to 20 days for its encashment in contrast to the cash transaction with the outside dealer. As soon as the consignment is collected from the farm, it is delivered to the retailers on the same average weight. The dealer and the retailer have nothing at stake and still take the lion’s share while as the poultry entrepreneur has everything at stake and only gets peanuts, that too when the rate is favorable and the stocks give their optimum production.

The middlemen make it sure to grab maximum benefit from the trade at the cost of the poor farmer and the consumer. To make it more obscure, the Department of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution System, Jammu and Kashmir fixes the rates of the poultry and poultry products on the basis of the mandi rates prevalent at the time in Delhi and Punjab which puts another back-breaking burden on the farmer and the middlemen enjoy the swag. The state of affairs is flattering for the middleman and the retailer while as for the poultry entrepreneur and the consumer, it is very much inauspicious.

Having dealt with in detail the obstacles confronting the poultry development in the Valley, it is justifiable to present here the solutions to the predicament:

1. An extensive awareness campaign by the Animal Husbandry Department for educating the farmers about the setting up of their own retail sales outlets where about 20 per cent of their produce can be marketed directly.

2. To facilitate the sustenance of the poultry industry in the Valley, the experts of the Animal Husbandry Department need to be empowered for fixing the whole sale and retail prices of the live and the dressed poultry as per the production cost.

3. Hygienically dressed and chilled poultry meat needs to be popularized among the masses by launching an awareness campaign involving the health experts and religious scholars.

4. The dependence on imports of poultry and poultry based inputs has to be reduced by commencing the establishment of Breeding Farms, Hatcheries and Feed Manufacturing Plants in the private sector. Animal Husbandry Department has to act as a facilitator and assist in dissemination of related information to the prospective entrepreneurs.

5. Establishment of Poultry Mandis on the analogy of Fruit Mandis at every District Headquarter where the farmers and retailers shall be handling the market directly.

The suggestions put forward shall pave way for the employment generation in the poultry sector, for which the present set up in the Government is too intense, and shall have long bearing significance in the establishment of an organized industry for the benefit of all the stakeholders.

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