Kerala: Small-scale duck egg farmers hit hard

ALAPPUZHA: The small farmers of Kuttanad, who rear ducks for selling eggs, have been deprived of their livelihood with the return of bird flu to Alappuzha district within two years. The district administration's ban on the movement and sale of eggs and meat has landed them in huge trouble. Omanakuttan, 47, Kalleliparambil, Vandanam, has stocked 6,000 eggs at his home for which there are no takers. He has 1,000 ducks which lay a minimum of 800 eggs daily. "I got Rs 7 per egg till the bird flu outbreak was confirmed. We had to suffer big losses last time. The situation will be the same this time also," he said.

Shaji Joseph, 43, from Pathirichira, Edathwa , who owns about 500 ducks, said, "the crisis has come at a time when Alappuzha egg market was picking up momentum and the import of duck eggs from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh had declined," he said. "I was getting about Rs 1,500 every day. Now, without any income we are worried about how to look after our two children," he said.

M. Aji ,42, Kannekkodi, Ambalappzuzha, is facing a crisis for the second time since 2014. That time, he lost over 1,000 ducks and 5,000 eggs. The government did not pay for the loss of eggs. "I have currently 1,000 ducks which lay about 900 eggs daily. We are the real victims of the bird flu outbreak as we are an unorganised sector scattered across Kuttanad," he said.

The farmers do not get any government support for their occupation. In September last year, the Animal Husbandry Department had announced a project to sell duck products under the label 'Kuttanadan brand.' But it has not reached anywhere so far. Around 90 percent of duck rearing is in the Kuttanad area. Adding to their woes, Tamil Nadu has banned the movement of poultry from Kerala.

Response teams cull 6,643 ducks

Teams of Rapid Response Force (RRF), set up jointly by the district administration, Animal Husbandry Department and the Health Department, have culled as many as 6,643 infected ducks at various places in Kuttanad on Thursday. Officials said that the culling would continue in the coming days.

In Cheruthana panchayat 296 ducks were culled while in Neelamperooor at least 1,750 ducks were burned. In Muttar 3,076 ducks were buried scientifically, while in Thakazhy, 1,521 ducks were culled. "There are six teams of RRF carrying out the operation. Though many farmers came out with complaints of bird flu, no new case has been confirmed, said V. Gopakumar nodal officer.