Local poultry farmers in Jammu and Kashmir are losing control as big companies expand. Ghulam Mohammad Bhat said, “Farmers who invested crores of rupees to build their businesses are now being reduced to workers on their own farms.” Many independent entrepreneurs now struggle because they must rely on these large firms.
Local poultry farmers in Jammu and Kashmir are increasingly losing control over their businesses as larger companies expand their presence in the sector, leaving independent entrepreneurs to bear the heavy costs of land, buildings and equipment while becoming dependent on companies for day-to-day operations.
Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, President of the Kashmir Poultry Farmers Association, said many farmers who had invested crores of rupees to establish their farms were being pushed towards contract rearing, under which companies supply chicks, feed and medicines while farmers are paid to raise the birds.
“Farmers who invested crores of rupees to build their businesses are now being reduced to workers on their own farms,” Bhat said.
Under this arrangement, farmers provide the infrastructure and labour, while companies control the supply of key inputs and determine the terms of production. According to Bhat, farmers receive around ₹12-13 per kg as rearing charges, but their earnings can be reduced through deductions for excess feed consumption and bird mortality.
He said delays in the supply of chicks for subsequent batches could also leave farms idle, reducing the number of production cycles farmers can complete in a year and affecting their income.
Bhat alleged that large companies had gained an advantage by controlling several stages of the poultry supply chain, including hatcheries, feed mills, medicines and processing facilities. This, he said, had made it increasingly difficult for independent farmers to compete.
He estimated that companies operating across these segments enjoyed a cost advantage of ₹12-15 per kg over smaller producers. The estimate could not be independently verified.
The growing dependence on contract rearing has raised concerns among local entrepreneurs who invested heavily in poultry farming in the hope of building independent businesses.
Sector in crisis
Before 2019, the government levied a charge of around ₹9 per kg on poultry brought into the region, which farmers say provided some protection against supplies from larger producers in other States. The levy was subsequently removed, exposing local producers to greater competition from outside markets.
Bashir Ahmad, a poultry farmer, said the removal of government safeguards allowed cheaper poultry from other States to enter the market, putting local producers under pressure and forcing many to turn to contract farming.
“Farmers who were once running their own businesses and providing employment are now struggling to sustain their operations,” he said, adding that many have shut their farmers.
A difficult arrangement
According to Bhat, the contract farming arrangement places farmers in a difficult position: they remain responsible for the infrastructure and its associated costs but have limited control over the supply of inputs, production schedules and the terms on which their birds are reared.
He called for government intervention to protect independent poultry farmers and ensure that local entrepreneurs can continue to operate viable businesses.
The issue, he said, goes beyond the returns farmers receive from each batch of birds.
“It concerns whether local entrepreneurs who have invested heavily in the sector will be able to retain control over their businesses or become increasingly dependent on larger companies,” Bhat said.