November 4, 2019

India's Bengal expected to become self-sufficient in egg production

The Indian state of Bengal is on course to become self-sufficient in the production of eggs, United News of India reported in late October.

Over the years, various measures have been taken to support this effort, and these are slowly showing results, according to the report. The latest measure involves growing maize in selected areas, as maize makes up about 50% of poultry feed. During the current financial year, 40 lakh tonnes have been cultivated.

The report noted that the state has received the Krishi Karman Award from the central government this year on the basis of its maize production.

The daily demand for eggs in Bangla is three crore, whereas the production is two crore.

In an effort towards to make up for this shortage, the state government had, a couple of years back, established two large farms with an investment of Rs 60 crore – one in Kalyani (Nadia district) and another in Barjora (Bankura district).

Later, subsidy amounting from Rs8 lakh to 80 lakh annually is given to those willing to set up large farms.

Waiving off stamp duty and a part of the electricity bill for a poultry farm and several other measures have been taken.

The government hopes for production to catch up to demand within a period of one to two years.

- United News of India