Sources in the animal husbandry department in the state reveal that the decision to accord industry status to the hitherto neglected sector has been prompted by the fact that though UP is among the largest consumers of poultry products in the country, it lags far behind other states in terms of self-sufficiency. "The state loses an estimated Rs 400 crore annually, buying poultry products from other states, prominent among them being Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana and Tamil Nadu,'' said a senior official of the department. On an average, UP buys around 35 lakh eggs daily, representing almost 60 per cent of the state's total demand from other states. Similarly, around two lakh broilers too are purchased from these states.

"Assuming that the purchase price of a broiler is around Rs35 and that of an egg is Re 1 a piece, the state's daily poultry import bill broaches the Rs one crore mark every day,'' lamented a senior official of the animal husbandry department. While conceding that the wide gap between demand and supply is on account of the state's huge population, department officials also lay the blame for poor poultry development in the state on successive governments which have paid scant attention to the needs of this sector over the years.

They claim that UP has all the prerequisites needed for the development of the poultry sector which include cheap labour and ideal agro-climatic conditions. Small wonder then that there were government hatcheries in almost every district till some years back.

However, total apathy by successive governments and their complete indifference to the problems of the sector resulted in the closure of all but two of the government-owned poultry units. Today, the UP government has a poultry unit in Babugarh in Meerut and one in Gajaria nearLucknow.On the production front, UP ranks ninth in the list of egg-producing states, while it ranks sixth in broiler production. In actual numbers, the state produces an estimated 1,113 million eggs annually, which is sufficient to meet a mere 40 per cent of its total demand.

Similarly, its broiler production is pegged at nine million, which is around 5.40 million kg of broiler. The total chicken meat production in the state is around 16 million kg, which is literally chicken feed compared to the total demand of 47 million kg. Given the dismal scenario, the state government is set to announce a series of measures designed to promote the industry in a big way. "This will not only result in substantial savings for the state government but is also expected to provide substantial employment opportunities," a senior state government official exulted. According to a recent study conducted by the animal husbandry department, an increase of one egg production per capita would mean an additional 25,000 jobs. Thatbeing the case, the poultry industry might well be in for some sunny side up days ahead in UP.