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In the last fortnight, suicides have been reported from Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, and Andhra Pradesh. An estimated 70% of poultry farmers in the country are said to be in dire straits
Nine poultry farmers from across India have killed themselves and many more face a grim future after the scare of bird flu wipes out demand for chicken in the country.
India has culled hundreds of thousands of chickens to contain several outbreaks of the H5N1 avian flu virus among poultry since February 2006. But the disease continues to resurface, mostly in the state of Maharashtra.
The bird flu scare has decimated the country's US$ 7.8 billion poultry industry, which claims that losses in the past two months have reached US$ 2.2 billion, or Rs 8,000 crore. "Nine farmers have committed suicide after their businesses suffered huge losses," says O P Singh, member of the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC).
In the last 15 days, suicides have been reported from West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, the last state being the epicentre of the bird flu outbreak in India. "These are cases reported from areas close to cities and towns. One does not know how many more such cases in remote villages have gone unreported," the NECC says in a press release.
The NECC adds that there are around 123,000 poultry farmers in India, of whom 70% are in a "dire situation". "Most small poultry owners start their businesses by selling off land and jewellery. And when they can't recover their costs they are left with no choice," says Singh.
Although both the Indian government and the poultry industry have been running awareness campaigns to encourage people to eat chicken and eggs, there has been little response from the public.
Chicken is a staple for meat-eaters in India, where beef and pork are rarely eaten either for religious reasons or food safety concerns. Now, however, the poultry industry says the wholesale price of chicken has fallen to around Rs 4 a kg. Before the bird flu scare, wholesale prices were at Rs 20 a kg.
"Sales are down by half, which is a slight improvement. But it's still very grim," says Bharat Tandon, chairman of the Compound Livestock Feed Manufacturers' Association of India, one of the main lobby groups.
The NECC has appealed to the central government and various state governments to immediately implement a relief and rehabilitation package for poultry farmers. The Indian authorities have announced financial assistance to farmers whose birds are being culled. The Maharashtra government has also announced a relief package although industry officials say the compensation is not enough. "What about those whose birds are not being culled but who aren't able to sell their stocks," asks Singh.
The Reserve Bank of India, the country's central bank, has announced some relief for the poultry industry, including allowing a one-time reduction of four percentage points on bank loans, and a moratorium of one year on loan repayments. However, its implementation at the ground level is yet to take place, says the NECC.
Source: Reuters, April 12, 2006
Business Standard, April 12, 2006
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