Backyard poultry emerged as a favourite source of additional income for marginal and landless farmers. Productivity of desi birds increased with scientific management practices.
Poultry Industry, a sunrise sector, has a growth rate of 8.51% in egg and 7.52% in broiler production. Around 1 million farmers are engaged in backyard poultry farming. India is the third largest egg producer and fourth largest broiler producer in the world. New poultry varieties have the potential to increase farmers’ income by 2.5 times. ICAR Scientists are working on reducing the footprints of antibiotics through the use of herbal products and innovative food products.