107 poultry cooperatives being set up in J

Srinagar, Apr 18 (UNI) To meet the local requirement of 30,000 birds per day, Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to set up 107 commercial poultry cooperatives with the assistance of National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).

About eight lakh to nine lakh chickens, 90 per cent of them being imported, are consumed per month in the valley.

Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives Abdul Aziz Zargar said with a view to promote commercial poultry cooperatives in the state 107 projects have been sent to NCDC for financial assistance.

This endeavour would be providing jobs to about 10 thousand unemployed youth involving an outlay of Rs 24 crore, he said.

Speaking at a function organised to disburse second installment of Rs 44 lakh to the poultry cooperatives Mr Zargar said nine such projects have been sanctioned by NCDC and are under implementation in five districts of the state.

These projects would be producing about 5.25 lakh poultry birds annually.

Mr Zargar advised the promoters of these poultry cooperatives to expedite the completion of these projects so that more such projects would come up during the current financial year.

Such projects would help to achieve self reliance in poultry production in the state besides fetching good income for unemployed youth, he concluded.

Registrar Cooperatives Dr Ghulam Nabi Qasba said that out of total project cost only 45 per cent is the loan component and rest is a 25 per cent subsidy, 25 per cent is government share and only five per cent is the contribution of the individual poultry Cooperative societies.

UNI