Constraints in Broiler Poultry Farming in Indian Punjab
Rudhita Goel & Jasdeep Singh ToorLagging of agriculture in providing sufficient surplus to the farmers opened the doors for the allied sector and poultry farming has emerged as one of the major contributors.Although poultry production reaping economic and social benefits remains unabated but the constraints faced by the farmers during and after the production process creates hinderances in making it the most remunerative business.The present paper aims to throw light on the problems faced by the broiler poultry farmers in the Punjab state. The study has been conducted with the heads of broiler poultry farmers selected using a three stage stratified random sampling. A sample of 338 broiler poultry farmers has been collected from the top Eight districts of Punjabas it covers three-fourths of the bird population. Descriptive analysis has been conducted to estimate frequencies and percentages of the responses.On the production side, farmers have faced the major constraint of expensive feed, day old chicks and vaccines, exploitation by the companies, shortage of skilled labour, lack of improved breeds, low quality feed, costly labour, uneasy availability of finance (loan), lack of government support and cultural & religious barriers in undertaking the broiler poultry farmingoperations. In case of health constraint, among diseases, Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD) is the most common disease, followed by underweight as well as overweight chickens and untimely veterinary service. There is existence of that affects the supply conditions in poultry farming.