Indigenous Backyard Poultry Promotion: The Keonjhar Experience

Focusing on making BYP a financially viable enterprise, and through systematic handholding of SHG women, training them and ensuring regular deworming and vaccinations for the birds, the CAHWs have set villagers on the path to progress and prosperity.

I n India, almost all rural households keep livestock, and backyard poultry (BYP) rearing is very common. BYP rearing plays a special role in the day-to-day, as well as the ceremonial and ritual lives of rural communities. BYP is a ready source of meat, and rearing is inexpensive, with low external inputs, is easy to manage and requires minimal time input. It helps control pests on farms, and there is no requirement for intensive knowledge to keep poultry in the household. It is also a significant contributor to the income of a household, especially for women, in times of emergencies.

Small livestock is the cheapest source of nutrition for tribal and marginal families; children and women meet their protein requirement mainly from eggs and chicken. Although rural BYP contributes nearly 20–30 per cent to the national egg and chicken production, it is a neglected sector yet. It can be a potent tool for the upliftment of the poorest of the poor.

This article describes the practices of rearing indigenous breeds, or desi birds, only. BYP promotion can also be practised with improved breeds such as Banraja; the experiences of poultry farmers, however, have been varied. BYP is one of the most important livestock of tribals and other rural communities because of its socioreligious use. Most tribes believe that numerous diseases, either in human beings or in animals or birds, are caused when the supernatural powers are unhappy. Therefore, in all calamities, including the mass mortality of poultry, the sacrifice of animals and chickens is a routine practice and is prevalent even today. Half the birds produced by the family are consumed at the time of festivals or when guests visit. Poultry are also given as gifts in marriages, functions and religious ceremonies by most rural communities, especially the tribals. ‘Cock-fighting’ (a local game which is played between two desi male birds and the owner of the winning cock gets the dead/ defeated bird with some rewards, mostly in cash) is a popular sport and birds are reared for it.