Foreign feathers fill Gujarat coffers

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Farmers in the north of the state take to rearing Emus, the big Australian birds, banking on a business plan that promises average returns, reports Hitesh Ankleshwaria

Mathurbhai Amathabhai Patel used to grow potatoes at his village of Geritha in Mehsana. Apart from this, the farmer used to grow the odd vegetable or two. But since October, 2008, like some other farmers from his state, Mathurbhai started rearing the Emu, the faunal icon of Australia, in captivity. Till date, Mathurbhai has sold 150 Emu eggs for Rs 1500 each.

Two dedicated workers take care of the birds at this north Gujarat farm. They feed the gaggle, treat the birds in their sickness. When an Emu lays an egg, they enter it in the register before packing it in a box. But what did really prompt Mathurbhai to take to Emu rearing? He says, “In September, 2008, the Indian Emu Life Private Ltd had organised a seminar for farmers at Visnagar and informed them about this lucrative business. At this seminar, I came to know about the Australian bird and the good business potential it held. The company invited us to its head quarter in Nasik and we had an in-depth look into the business. This business promised good profits with less hard work. So I started.”

A lot of farmers like Mathurbhai in Gandhinagar, Mehsana and Banaskantha districts of Gujarat took to Emu rearing in 2008. Today more than 25 farmers are engaged in the business. An Emu help line centre has also started functioning at Visnagar town of Mehsana. The Gokul Kisangram Samiti is pre-booking Emus wanted by farmers. As per its trustee and chairman, Jigar Patel, in the last week, three new farmers have registered their names with the body. The organisation receives enquiries from more than ten farmers everyday. Patel was the first farmer who started this business in north Gujarat. He explains the business module.

“To start Emu rearing, 10 pairs of bird are required. It costs about Rs 1,50,000 and requires just half an acre land of land. Fencing, erecting the shed and arranging for water and buying a grass cutter account for another Rs 90,000. This brings the total project cost to around Rs 2,40,000. As per my estimate, total expenses for the Emus' food, medicine, maintenance, insurance (for the first year) and transportation will bring the net total to Rs 7,95,000 for five years. Income from the farm starts getting generated only after one year. Farmers get a market price of Rs 1500 per egg. An average pair of Emus (of the age of 3 years) lays 30 to 35 eggs every season over their 40-year life span. If one pair of Emus lays 15 eggs per year, the total for 10 pairs comes to 150 eggs which will earn a farmer Rs 2,25,000. If one pair lays 25 eggs in its third year and 35 eggs in the fourth and fifth years, the total income will be Rs 16,50,000 for first five years. Deduct the expenses and a farmer can earn Rs 8,55,000 from Emu farming in five years,” says Patel. Clearly, even at its optimistic best, the business model gives just above Rs.200,000 per year as income, with no guarantee that the eggs will get finally sold or not. That seems to be quite an average return when seen in the perspective of the infrastructure, money, and time investment. And the wonder of it is that it's not even clear what the egg is finally supposed to do, apart from giving birth to another Emu.

Yet, Emu rearers do not need to find a market for their products as a six-year contract exists between the Nasik-based Emu Life Private Limited (ELPL) and the Farmer which includes buying that all the bird's body parts, taking back of a live or dead Emu too. “Emu requires meticulous looking after till it becomes one year old. Thereafter things become relaxed as Emus have a robust immune system. However, ELPL provides us training and their doctors come here every three months for routine check-ups. Emus are voracious creatures. You have to feed them corns and green fodder. Apart from these, it is fond of black soil too. This bird can sustain temperature fluctuations ranging between -10 and 60 degree Celsius. To feed an Emu, it costs you Rs 20 per day which is one-third of what would take to feed a cow or a buffalo. Emus are not aggressive but can defend themselves. If a cat, a dog or a snake enters their territory, Emus gather in groups and chases away the encroaching animal and at times, even kill them,” Mathurbhai lets it all out in one breadth.

Patel sheds light on the future of Emu rearing in Gujarat. He draws the whole circle: “Emu rearing started in Maharashtra and spread to Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. Right now, all the eggs produced here are sent to the Nasik-based company which processes these eggs for 50-60 days till they hatch. When the chicks grow up to three or four months, they sell them to the farmers. These farmers have to take care of them for one year and then, the female Emus start laying eggs.”

Apparently, every body part of the Emu has an international market. The oil extracted from a dead Emu fetches Rs 3,000 per litre and generally one adult Emu contains four to five litres of it. Each Emu weighs a minimum of 50 kg. Its skin, feathers and nails also have good markets. Farmers send the Emu's body parts to the committee office. Then the office, with ELPL help, sends them out to the market. Emu’s meat is protein-rich but has low fat. Its meat has a good demand in foreign markets. Patel thinks the future of Emu rearing in north Gujarat is bright. “Right now, farmers of north Gujarat have more than 1,000 pairs of Emus and as per our estimate, it will reach 5,000 pairs in one year,” he says.

Farmers of north Gujarat are dreaming of riding the Emus to make quick bucks. nly time will tell how much of it they actually manage to do. One just hopes this whole grandiose plan is not just a multi-level marketing setup in disguise.

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Since the BJD came to power in Orissa 10 years ago, nearly 2500 farmers have embraced death in the face of rising debt and failing crops.

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Last December's unseasonal rains have only made matters worse for the state's already badly battered farm sector

The unseasonal rains that lashed Orissa last December swept away not just 52-year-old farmer Ashok Khatua's standing paddy crop but also his will to live. The suicide was yet another 'living' proof of the worsening agricultural crisis in the state. But who would have imagined that Khatua's son, Sujit, a teacher in a nearby private school, would follow suit and hang himself from the very tree from which he brought down his father's body just hours ago?

It was the morning of December 27. Ashok, a resident of Dhirpur village in Bargarh district, had left for his 3.5-acre farm the previous night. When the father of three did not return until 9 AM, his family members, who were preparing for his daughter's impending wedding, and other villagers launched a search. They fanned out in different directions. Sujit found his father hanging from a tree. In a state of shock, the young man killed himself.

The police recovered the two bodies – the father was lying on the ground, the son was hanging from the tree. The family was intimated, autopsies conducted and the bodies were handed over for the last rites. Amid all this, government officials were conspicuous by their absence.

Harvest time was approaching and the paddy crop in Ashok's farm was ripe. The rains came down without warning and the entire crop was damaged, leaving the debt-ridden farmer completely devastated. Says Anil Khatua, brother of the deceased peasant: “He was so depressed that he stopped talking to us. We thought time would heal him. But it didn't.” Talking about his nephew, Anil says: “He was very attached to his father and could not bear the shock. It was awful. Within minutes, the entire family was destroyed.”

Documents revealed that Ashok had taken a loan of Rs 20,000 from the local co-operative society, besides borrowing Rs 50,000 from relatives. Says Kishori, his widow: “I am aware of the loan. Tell me, how can I ever repay the sum. I have a family to run and a marriageable daughter.” She appealed to the government for help.
In a similar incident in Gopeipali village of Bargarh district, a marginal farmer Shiba Bhoi, 42, committed suicide on December 27 by consuming pesticide in his field after the unseasonal rain damaged his crop. He was rushed to Bargarh Hospital but he died the next evening.

Shiba had less than one acre of land and tilled other farms on a rental basis. He left behind two small daughters and a widow who reside in a dilapidated house in the village. The district administration sanctioned Rs 10,000 in both cases but did nothing more than that. “I have full sympathy for the bereaved families. I have asked my officers to find out how we can include their names in various government schemes,” Bhabagrahi Mishra, Bargarh collector, told TSI.

But the cases of Ashok and Shiba are just the tip of the iceberg. Farmer suicides have become alarmingly common in Orissa. Since no government effort is made to create awareness among farmers about the challenges posed by natural calamities, they are often driven to take desperate measures. Farmer leaders have pilloried the government for not taking prompt action to rescue the poor peasants from the situation created by unseasonal rainfall.

Farmers have rejected the relief package offered by the government – Rs 2000 per hectare. Says Ashok Pradhan, convenor, Western Orissa Farmers Coordination Committee: “We want proper compensation. Rs 2000 per hectare means Rs 800 per acre of land. What purpose can a meagre Rs 800 serve?”

Pradhan suggested that the government should provide a compensation of Rs 15,000 per acre to the affected farmers for both irrigated and non-irrigated land. The farmers' association recently organised demonstration and burnt copies of the relief package as a mark of protest.

Meanwhile, the Union government committee that visited the affected districts after the unseasonal rain is convinced that the damage was ‘extensive’. "The crop loss due to unseasonal rain in December is extensive as well as substantial. We will submit our report to the Centre shortly," Pankaj Kumar, joint secretary in the Union agriculture ministry, who is heading the team, told reporters in Bhubaneswar after meeting Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik and other senior state officials.
Experts attribute Orissa's worsening agrarian crisis to the state government's emphasis on rapid industrialisation at the expense of agriculture. The suicide rate among farmers is mounting in the face of increasing cost of cultivation and debt. “Industry and agriculture are equally important for the growth of the state. The government has to change its attitude if it is committed to the welfare of farmers,” says KC Panda, a retired professor.

Orissa agriculture minister Damodar Rout revealed in the state Assembly that 2,575 farmers have committed suicide during 2000-2008 – 345 in 2002, 365 in 2003, and 378 in 2004. The year-wise farmer suicide figures indicated that the number rose from 199 suicidal deaths in 2000 to 378 in 2004. Subsequently, 254 farmers committed suicide in 2005, 283 in 2006 and 235 in 2007. The figure in 2008 was 260. But the number of cases in 2009 and 2010 is higher because of constant crop loss. Though official figures aren't available, the farmers' body claims over 300 have committed suicide in the past two years.

Meanwhile, Opposition leaders allege the state government is deliberately trying to uproot farmers in order to please a few industrialists. “The government wants to divert agriculture land for industrial use. Farmers do not want to remain in agriculture in these circumstances. So we apprehend a drastic fall in farm output in the coming days,” says Gourahari Mishra, Bargarh district president of BJP. Although political arguments can keep continuing, the fact is that the value of a human life has degraded below what can be imagined. Can monetary support save these lives? The answer is unanimous - yes! The pity of it is - nobody's giving.

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