A one day workshop on 'Commercial Sustainable and Safe Broiler Chicken Production Methods for Kerala Chicken Stakeholders' jointly organized by Kudumbashree and Animal Husbandry Department, Government of Kerala was held at Hotel Grand Chaithram, Thiruvananthapuram on 1 February 2023. Shri. Jafar Malik IAS, Executive Director, Kudumbashree inaugurated the workshop. The workshop included various sessions on antibiotic use, production of antibiotic-free chicken, alternative approaches to antibiotics, economic feasibility and future perspective to achieve this goal, and change in management practices.
The workshop was organized with the objective of drafting an approved operating procedure for reducing antibiotic residues in broiler chicken and making commercial broiler farming a sustainable source of income. Based on this, Kudumbashree and Animal Welfare Department will jointly prepare a draft of the approved operating procedure by including the best suggestions. Once this becomes available, comprehensive development will be possible including better broiler management and sustainable employment and income for farmers.
The draft of the approved course of action will include clear guidelines on antibiotic use, antibiotic-free poultry production, antibiotic alternative approaches, economic viability and future perspective to achieve this goal, and changes in management practices. The draft will also include recommendations on health care of chicks, disease control, vaccination, control of diseases caused by inorganic materials, methods of controlling disease vectors, and scientific methods for testing the quality of feed and water.
Advanced broiler management and farmer welfare including measures to ensure on-farm biosecurity, effective waste disposal and meat processing, scientific training of farmers in poultry farming, production of safe and edible poultry, sustainable markets and various certifications are examined in detail. It has been decided to include in the draft proposals that will help ensure sustainable employment and income for the farmers working in this field, along with this.
Dr. A Kowsigan IAS, Director, Department of Animal Husbandry, Government of Kerala welcomed the gathering. Dr. Aravind, Dr. Binoy Chacko, Dr. Harikrishnan S, Dr. Surya Shankar, Dr. Jess Varghese, Dr. Punyamoorthy, Dr. Sreenivas Gupta, Dr. Naushad Ali, Dr. Tony Jose, Dr. Natarajan, Dr. Eapen John, Dr. Rana Raj, Dr. Chandra Prasad, Dr. Swapna Susan Abraham, Dr. Selva Kumar, Dr. Bijulal, Dr. Sajeev Kumar, Dr. Sunil, Dr. Anuraj and Dr. Sudhi R spoke on various topics. Along with Kudumbashree, representatives of KEPCO, Brahmagiri Development Society and Meat Products of India, which are working as part of the Kerala Chicken Project, also participated in the workshop.
Kudumbashree and the Department of Animal Husbandry joined hands to prepare an approved operating procedure to be adopted in the production process and distribution chain in a situation where the consumption of meat containing antibiotic residues in the market poses a global threat to public health. Kerala Chicken is a scheme conceived and implemented by the Government of Kerala with the aim of providing quality chicken meat to consumers at reasonable prices and producing at least fifty percent of the domestic consumption here.
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Workshop on 'Commercial Sustainable and Safe Broiler Chicken Production Methods for Kerala Chicken Stakeholders' held