Panaji: Seeking to cut Goa’s heavy dependence on neighbouring states for poultry supply, the state government has approved a Poultry Farm Policy that aims to regulate the sector, stabilise prices and expand local production.
The policy will be implemented after a board is constituted with representatives from the Poultry Farms Association, the Department of Animal Husbandry and other government officials, said a government source.
All Goa Poultry Association president Jaykrishna Naik said the policy will encourage new farmers and youth to enter the sector and help control market price fluctuations. “Goa currently meets only about 5% of its poultry demand locally, but this could rise to nearly 30% within a year of the policy’s implementation,” he said.
The policy outlines a phased implementation plan. In the short term, the government will frame acts, rules and notifications to regulate the poultry sector, establish border quality checks and disease-testing laboratories, conduct capacity-building programmes for farmers and entrepreneurs, support Goan-origin farmer associations and cooperatives, and facilitate the formation of a corporation to develop and regulate the poultry industry in the state.
The medium-term plan focuses on strengthening infrastructure through the establishment of hatcheries to ensure the supply of quality chicks, promotion of breeder farms and organised broiler clusters, development of commercial layer farms to reduce external dependence and facilitation of feed plants for standardised feed supply.
The medium-term plan also focuses on setting up dressing and rendering plants for hygienic processing and scientific waste management.
In the long term, the policy proposes automated, export-compliant poultry processing and value-addition facilities.
The policy also places emphasis on regulation and quality control, including mandatory registration and licensing of farms and processing units, periodic veterinary inspections, strict biosecurity norms, regulation of poultry imports, scientific waste disposal, environmental safeguards and price stabilisation measures to address market fluctuations.
