JEYPORE: Thanks to market linkage facilitated by the district unit of Mission Shakti, tribal women of Tikarapada village under Kotpad block have started supplying desi eggs to the OPOLFED outlet in Jeypore. Sources said last year, 10 poor tribal women from the village had requested the district administration for necessary help for desi poultry farming for employment and income generation. Considering their interests, the administration incorporated these women under layer farming deep litter system under the State plan.
The women were given 200 desi poultry chicks worth Rs 2 lakh and sheds for layer farming by the Mission Shakti unit, four months back. They then reached out to authorities concerned to resolve the issue following which the administration linked them with OPOLFED in Jeypore. While they were unable to reap profits due to lack of market linkage and poor sale in the local haats, now the tribal women farmers are supplying up to 200 eggs daily at Rs 5 per piece to the cooperative society. Earlier they used to earn around Rs 1,100-Rs 1,200 a month selling eggs at Rs 4 a piece
“We are hoping to earn upto Rs 3,000 after supplying to OPOLFED. The sales are encouraging,” said Champa Harijon, a woman poultry farmer.The district Mission Shakti coordinator Jaya Krushna Mohapatra, who has been monitoring the marketing process of these tribal women said layer farming and subsequent income generation is encouraging more villagers to take it up as a livelihood. The administration will extend all possible support to promote women poultry farmers, he said.