Desi chicken empowers Odisha’s tribal women

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! 

This colloquial expression of joy finds new meaning in tribal villages nestled in the rolling Western Ghats hills where authorities and residents are joining forces to rid the area of malnutrition, especially among children. They also want to supplement earnings of poor families inhabiting the scenic terrain of southern Odisha’s Malkangiri district. 

Their weapon of choice is local breeds of free-range poultry, known in these parts as “desi chicken.”

Chicken on the plate brings as much excitement as those pecking away on Sukri Burudi’s poultry farm at Dhuliput village in Chitrakonda block. 

“I earned around Rs 30,000 selling desi chicken last year,” she says. 

Her husband was sceptical when she started the farm because women in tribal villages seldom took up a trade. 

“This farm has given me a new identity, made me financially independent,” Burudi added.

Success is touching many 

“Desi chickens are always in high demand,” says Kausalya Sisa, claiming to be the first woman in Jodambo village to set up a desi poultry farm. “People seek out local breeds because they are tastier and are often needed in festivals and religious rituals.” 

More importantly, the family is eating more meat now and the children are having eggs regularly. 

More poultry meat and eggs in people’s diet are part of a conscious policy decision to tackle malnutrition in Malkangiri, where data from the 2019-20 Fifth National Family Health Survey shows 44 percent of children under five are stunted, 41 percent are underweight and 19 percent are wasted. 

Anaemia is chronic too, with 78 percent of children in the six-to-59-month age group and 71 percent of women found to be anaemic.

In search of food – malnutrition leads to migration

The district has reported a high rate of distress migration – mostly menfolk from poor households heading to towns and cities to do low-paying, exploitative menial labour. 

Left behind in the villages, women struggle to care for the children and elderly without a supplementary income source. 

Then, just when it was needed the most, the chicken landed as a saviour.

The Odisha government activated its Special Programme for Promotion of Integrated Farming (SPPIF) and gave technical knowhow and financial support of Rs 78,393 to each tribal woman wishing to rear desi chicken on a 0.5-acre farm that can accommodate around 300 birds. 

Additional aid was given to build a perimeter fence and buy feed, feeders and bamboo boxes for birds to lay eggs, and other odds and ends. To start with, they received 40 layer birds of four months old and 10 roosters.

Happy free-rangers

Unlike poultry in industrial-scale farms, the desi fowls are allowed to be free range in a natural setting. Chickens going about their business of scratching the dirt for worms, foraging and feeding, and flapping their wings under the bright sun are a common sight.

“They grow faster and stay healthier outside, with plenty of sunlight,” says Sukri Pula of Siripeta village in Khairput block.

Over the past two years, 24 such farms and 1,798 night shelters were set up in the district – empowering tribal women to lead, manage and augment their household income. 

“We promoted a farmer-to-farmer learning approach,” Aniket Likhar, district project officer SPPIF, told Village Square.

Around 80 farmers were taken to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh’s Paderu district on a field visit to farms where ideas and experiences were exchanged.

Explaining the meat and potatoes of the programme, an official says a network of individuals and groups was created for better management – like 10 panchayats clustered into one block. Each block is assigned with a farmer producer organisation (FPO) to provide guidance and help source material and scale up the operation. 

“We provide veterinary service at farmers’ doorstep,” says Debasish Muduli, chief executive officer of Chitrakonda FPO.

Resilient desi chicks

The desi breeds are highly resilient, adapted to the tropical climate, low maintenance and easy on the pocket.

The fowls eat what they get naturally, but their main course is strictly monitored. 

A diversified and balanced feed of millet, paddy, rice bran, groundnut cake, maize, drumstick leaves, kitchen waste and azolla leaves are given to them. 

Read: Azolla “water weed” becomes cattle superfood

“Azolla is a natural growth booster. A wholesome diet boosts immunity and reduces disease risks,” says Sarangadhar Sathpathy, former Chief District Veterinary officer of Malkangiri.

By sundown, the birds are corralled into coops or night shelters, which were built after several incidents of nocturnal jungle cats preying on chicken roosting on tree branches were reported. 

Each coop has space for 15-20 birds. The government gave cement, bricks and chicken wire to make these coops. 

“Nightly predators can’t kill our birds now,” says Samari Dora of Dhuliput village.

The chicken run

The success of the farms is rubbing off on others too with more villagers showing interest in the poultry trade. 

The programme is creating supply chains of affordable chicks and feeds, which is driving the income of suppliers.

“These poultry farms have promoted decentralised breeding units of desi poultry,” says Binayak Mishra, livestock coordinator with Somks, an NGO.

The economics of desi chicken works better because of its high demand and limited supply. Demand shoots up during tribal festivals: Chait Parab, Ambo Parab, Amas Parab, Puspuni and the like. 

Chicken farmer Jamuna Tangul of Korkunda block says people come to her house to buy fowls. 

And whenever the family needs cash, they sell their birds at the local weekly market. Many treat their chicken like an insurance cover. 

“We don’t sell our flock at one go. These are our ready cash for any unforeseen event. Our saviours,” says Budra Midiami of Mathili block, almost conjuring up a chicken in superhero cape.

The lead image at the top shows a desi rooster (Photo by MiZie, Pixabay)

Abhijit Mohanty is a freelance journalist based at Bhubaneswar.