Strike by poultry farms in Palladam: tripartite meeting on January 21 to discuss foster care rate

In the wake of the strike by poultry farms in Palladam, where the Broiler Coordination Committee (BCC) is headquartered, as also across the State since the start of this month demanding revision in foster care rates, the Animal Husbandry Department has reportedly called for a tripartite meeting on January 21.

Over 70% of the hundreds of poultry farms concentrated in and around Palladam are taking part in the strike, due to which the broiler industries are not being permitted to supply chicks to the farms.

Espousing the cause of the poultry farms, the Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Protection Association has demanded that the rearing rate be fixed at a minimum of ₹15 per kg for broiler chicken, ₹20 per kg for country chicken and ₹5 per bird for quail.

The association had conducted a series of protests urging the State Government to revise the foster care rate from the “abysmal” extent of ₹6.50 per kg for broiler chicken.

According to the farmers, the operational costs of poultry farms have gone up substantially after electricity rates rose manifold over the last few years. The price of coir pith has also risen steeply, Parthasarathy, a farmer operating a poultry farm in Vavipalayam village said.

They have also demanded scrapping of the Feed Conversion Ratio as a metric to determine conversion of feed into body weight gain.

The broiler chickens are taken back by the broiler integrators after 45 days of growth, while for country chicken the duration exceeds 120 days.

The BCC consists of more than 35 broiler integrators.

According to the poultry farmers, provision of chicks weighing over 40 grams and supply of certified feed were a must for attaining the desired growth.

On Tuesday, the police arrested 12 farmers and had them remanded in judicial custody for reportedly blocking the vehicles supplying chicks to the farms.

Of them, five each were arrested at Sultanpet and Udumalpet and two at Negamam. Hundreds of farmers who staged protests decrying the arrest and demanding their release were also detained. They were all let off later in the day.