The broiler farming in Samdrupchhoeling Dungkhag in Samdrup Jongkhar is proving to be a lucrative business since it was introduced in 2015. Besides improving the livelihoods of the farmers, it has helped to cut down the import of chicken from India.
Chickens that are bred and raised for meat production are known as broilers.
Eleven interested farmers from Phuntshothang and Pemathang Gewogs started broiler farming with support from the district livestock office more than three years ago. They were supplied with 500 broiler chicks each.
Initially, farmers encountered a few hiccups in getting the local customers to buy chicken from them. But slowly, things changed for the better. Today, they are the main suppliers of chicken in the dungkhag.
“When the market is good we get Nu 30,000 to 40,000 per month but in the lean season we hardly earn Nu 20,000 to 30,000 profit and broilers are sold here only to local people,” Karna Bahadur Bhandari, one of the broiler farm owners in Pemathang, said.
“The income from the farm helps meet my household expenses. In a month, the profit is in between Nu 15,000 to 8,000. We can earn more if we rear more broiler chicks. In my case, I keep it limited since I supply chicken only to my locality and a few meat shops,” Laxmi Bhandari, another broiler farm owner, said.
A kilogram of chicken is sold for Nu 230.
Apart from broilers, farmers also raise layers in their poultry farms. Last year, the district produced over 18 thousand cartoons of eggs.
Kinley Wangchuk
