What started as part of backyard farming about two decades ago has today turned into a booming business, making an import-dependent nation almost self-sufficient in eggs.It’s boom time for poultry business in the country.
In the past, poultry meant having five to 20 birds and most Bhutanese imagined eggs as always white in color, all imported from India. Today, poultry means something different. It means local birds that lay huge brown eggs.
The program manager of the National Poultry Development Centre (NPDC) under the livestock department, Tshewang Tashi, said poultry farming took off from 2005, after the mass egg and chicken production activities were initiated.
At the time, there were only eight layers or egg production farms that raised between 50 and 150 birds. The first broiler or chicken production farm began with 200 chicks in Gosaling, Tsirang. Today, the country has 130 layers and 68 broiler farms with more than 500 birds in each farm.
“What really boosted the local production of eggs and chicken in Bhutan was the bird flu outbreak in
India,” said Tsehwang Tashi.
Following the bird flu outbreak, Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority (BAFRA) officials imposed a ban on the import of indiscriminate poultry and poultry products in the country. The ban came into effect in January 2004 and BAFRA only allowed the import of dressed chicken from unaffected countries. In February 2005, a meeting in Delhi, India, declared the SAARC countries free from the flu and subsequently the ban in Bhutan was lifted.
The agriculture and forests minister, Lyonpo Pema Gyamtsho (PhD), said the ban, however, triggered local production and a market for it. “Many took up poultry because it did well. And unlike in the past, today we have reached some level of self-sufficiency,” said the minister.
Program Manager Tshewang Tashi said while Bhutan may be doing well in egg production, the country is not yet fully self-sufficient. The per capita egg availability in the country, he said, is still very low with less than 47 eggs a person a year, which means less than an egg a week. And the per capita chicken availability is just about 2.5 kg a person a year.
What started as part of backyard farming about two decades ago has today turned into a booming business, making an import-dependent nation almost self-sufficient in eggs.It’s boom time for poultry business in the country.
In the past, poultry meant having five to 20 birds and most Bhutanese imagined eggs as always white in color, all imported from India. Today, poultry means something different. It means local birds that lay huge brown eggs.
The program manager of the National Poultry Development Centre (NPDC) under the livestock department, Tshewang Tashi, said poultry farming took off from 2005, after the mass egg and chicken production activities were initiated.
At the time, there were only eight layers or egg production farms that raised between 50 and 150 birds. The first broiler or chicken production farm began with 200 chicks in Gosaling, Tsirang. Today, the country has 130 layers and 68 broiler farms with more than 500 birds in each farm.
“What really boosted the local production of eggs and chicken in Bhutan was the bird flu outbreak in
India,” said Tsehwang Tashi.
Following the bird flu outbreak, Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority (BAFRA) officials imposed a ban on the import of indiscriminate poultry and poultry products in the country. The ban came into effect in January 2004 and BAFRA only allowed the import of dressed chicken from unaffected countries. In February 2005, a meeting in Delhi, India, declared the SAARC countries free from the flu and subsequently the ban in Bhutan was lifted.
The agriculture and forests minister, Lyonpo Pema Gyamtsho (PhD), said the ban, however, triggered local production and a market for it. “Many took up poultry because it did well. And unlike in the past, today we have reached some level of self-sufficiency,” said the minister.
Program Manager Tshewang Tashi said while Bhutan may be doing well in egg production, the country is not yet fully self-sufficient. The per capita egg availability in the country, he said, is still very low with less than 47 eggs a person a year, which means less than an egg a week. And the per capita chicken availability is just about 2.5 kg a person a year.
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