Clogged drains and dirty, slippery floors strewn with entrails are common sights at every meat shop in the state. To change that ‘bloody’ image and to provide hygienic meat to the consumers, the meat industry in the north Malabar region is undergoing a silent revolution inspired by a community-based farmer-oriented project. ‘Malabar Meat’, a brainchild of the Brahmagiri Development Society (BDS), an accredited agency of the departments of Dairy Development and Animal Husbandry, has become an instant hit with the meat lovers in the region, if sales figures are to be believed.
The multi-species meat processing plant maintained by the BDS processes beef, mutton, rabbit, and poultry products and markets them through dedicated outlets. The state-of-the-art plant, spread over 13 acres of land in Manjadi, near here, processes stock procured through various self-help groups registered with the BDS.
The 40-crore cattle breeding programme undertaken by the Kudumbashree Mission with the assistance of NABARD in Wayanad and Kannur also provides livestock to the plant, arguably the largest multi-species abattoir in Asia. The meat products are being marketed through eight outlets spread across Wayanad since March 15. According to the office-bearers of the BDS, more agencies would be opened keeping up with the production and demand. “We could record sales of `13 lakh in the first 15 days. At present, each outlet receives 200 kilograms of processed meat per day, but the society is not able to meet the demand as we are currently operating only on a single shift. There are plans to open 50 more outlets in Kozhikode, Kannur and Malappuram districts by coming June,” said Project Manager Anu Scaria. The `22-crore facility, equipped with machines imported from France, Germany, England and Greece, have the capacity to process 45 tonnes of meat per day, the official said. The processed meat, both chilled and frozen, is available in three weight classes ranging from half kg to two kgs. The price of one kilogram of beef is being tentatively fixed at `210, while mutton and chicken are being sold at ` 400 and `175 per kg, respectively. “There is no effective mechanism to ensure the quality of the meat sold in the local market. We are not sure whether the meat supplied to us is of dead or infected animals. So, the effort to provide quality meat is laudable,” said Elizabeth Raju, a school teacher based in Mananthavady.
Those who run traditional butcher shops had been given priority while issuing licences, BDS chairman P Krishna Prasad said, adding that a country-wide distribution network would be established and the products would be exported to other countries in the due course. According to him, the project creates direct employment to 600 people and indirect employment to 50,000 people. “Our business is not affected by the new product as people here prefer fresh meat over frozen or chilled meat,” said Thodiyil Rasaq, who runs a butcher shop in Tharuvana.