According to the district animal husbandry and veterinary department, around 200 broiler chicken farms are functional in the district at present, and most of them are under contract farming mode. Under this mode of farming, poultry companies – which are mostly from other states – provide broiler chicks, feed, vaccines, and technical advice to the poultry farmers with whom they sign contracts for raising the chicks and then delivering them to the company concerned as full-grown chickens.

On the other hand, the contract poultry farmers have to set up the required infrastructure, buy feed at the rate of Rs 40 per kg from the companies, provide labour, buy medicines when required, take the liability if any chick dies due to factors other than epidemic diseases, and raise the birds as per the technical guidance provided by the companies to whom the birds are sold back at a fixed rate at the approximate age of 40 to 42 days.

In return, the company pays a minimum rate of Rs 8 per kg to a maximum rate of Rs 11 per kg to the contract farmer concerned against a broiler chicken with a weight of around 2.8 kg. This pittance includes all the costs of production borne by the contract farmer against a broiler chicken.

It is alleged that the contract poultry farmers have no scope to bargain regarding the sale price of their chickens. They cannot approach the authorities concerned if an agreement is breached by the company because the contract papers are written in English, which is almost unintelligible to the majority of poultry farmers. Moreover, it is alleged that the companies do not share copies of the relevant agreements with the farmers.

Consequently, farmers who rear broiler chicks on a contract basis for private companies earn much less than those who sell their broiler chickens independently in the open market. Independent farmers earn 40 to 88 per cent more profit than contract farmers, a poultry trader said.

"Unless these poultry farmers are brought under the cooperative system, it will be difficult for them to continue the poultry trade independently," said Bongaigaon district animal husbandry and veterinary officer Dr Shahidul Islam.

According to some poultry farmers, they need bank loans with a minimal interest rate, inputs such as quality feed, free vaccines, broiler chicks at a reasonable price, as well as technical guidance from the veterinary department for rearing the chicks and selling full-grown chickens in the market.

It is reported that the private companies are running their poultry trade through contract farming in the district without taking any formal consent from the veterinary department. It is also alleged that these companies do not allow contract farmers to consult the local veterinary department over farm-related issues.

"Only the collective effort of government agencies can free us from exploitation by the private companies," a local broiler farmer said.

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