Meet 39-year-old agri-business entrepreneur Chandramani Behera of Abhayapur under Tangi-Choudwar block in Cuttack district who has set an example for others.
Chandramani now aims to start a piggery unit and has applied for a loan of Rs 16 lakh under the Mukhyamantri Krushi Udyog Yojana, a scheme to expedite the process for setting up agro industries and provide subsidy. Chandramani began a poultry hatchery with just 1,500 chicks in 2015 but now he owns a breeding unit spread over two acres of land having over 5,000 healthy birds.
The successful poultry farmer, meanwhile, has bagged an order from the administration to supply chicks to the farmers of entire Dhenkanal district who suffered crop loss due to drought-like situation in 2015. The state government aims to provide 1, 43,000 chicks to the farmers of 27 drought-hit districts to compensate the loss. Chandramani supplies around 5,000 chicks per month to the affected farmers to strengthen their livelihood. Besides, in his small retail counter, he sells meat and eggs to meet the local requirement. On an average he earns a profit of over Rs 70,000 per month from his poultry breeding unit.
“I started the unit taking loan of Rs 3.5 lakh, on which I got a subsidy of Rs 1 lakh, under National Livestock Mission (NLM). Not only from the block veterinary officer, I also get inputs from experts by calling Reliance Foundation Information Services (RFIS) toll-free number to maintain proper growth of the chicks and ensure that they remain disease-free.”
“Once, around 100 chickens died in just one week by pecking each other. I was shocked at the behaviour of the birds that caused their mortality. I called the RFIS toll-free number and came to know that the hens were suffering from cannibalism, an act of a poultry species that consumes all or part of another individual of the same species as food. This is caused by mineral deficiency in the birds. On being advised, I used poultry feed that was rich in calcium, iodised salt and added medicines to it. The disease was brought under control within a couple of days,” he added.
Chandramani will soon develop a grass unit for the poultry farm. Apart from poultry, Chandramani also grows paddy, pulses, greens and other vegetables on his 10 acre land.
Now the young farmer is planning to start a piggery unit and has applied online for a loan of Rs 16 lakh under the Mukhyamantri Krushi Udyog Yojana, a scheme to expedite the process for setting up agro industries and provide subsidy.
Chandramani is the president of local Pani Panchayat, who is also in the charge of Community Pond Management Project (Gosthi Jalasaya Parichalana Prakalpa).
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