400 Flock Of Chickens Distributed Under PM's 'Backyard Poultry' Initiative

ISLAMABAD, Apr 1 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Apr, 2022 ) :The Islamabad capital territory (ICT) administration's agriculture department has distributed around 400 flock of chickens among deserving people under the Prime Minister's 'Backyard Poultry' initiative.

A ceremony in that regard was held here at Tarlai Civil Veterinary Hospital, the other day where people received poultry birds on 30pc subsidised rates. One flock consists of five hens and a rooster.

Director agriculture Waqar Anwar told APP that the initiative was aimed at addressing stunted growth in poor households, providing nourishment, supplementing family incomes through sale of organic eggs, besides creating job and poverty alleviation.

The ICT livestock department and livestock and dairy development board, he said were providing training to people to gain maximum benefit from the scheme.

He said the birds were 90 days old, vaccinated and would start laying eggs in a week or two.

The birds do not need a special diet rather they can be raised on home kitchen waste, vegetables, bread crumbs, rice leftovers, fruit peels, etc.

Under the initiative, Anwar said, some 2,000 birds unit would be distributed among deserving individuals during the ongoing year.

'Backyard Poultry' was one of the interventions and its target was especially women and people living in rural areas, he said and expressed the hope that people would get maximum benefit from the scheme.

He said the scheme had received an overwhelming response by the public as they were sho wing maximum interest in the project.

Divulging details about the distribution process, he said people may submit applications at their nearest veterinary hospital after that a computerised balloting held to decide the recipients.

The chickens would become edible after two months of rearing. Many chicken breeds were being distributed under the scheme including Desi, Indigenous, Golden Breed, Full Black Australopithecus, Egyptian Contrast Breed, Silky Breed, Bare Neck, and Ferry Breed.

Free medicine and informational literature about raising the chicken was also distributed to families besides free training.

The prime minister had announced the National Agriculture Emergency Programme for reformation and rehabilitation of farming community; a number of interventions like construction of water courses, building of farm ponds, wells and subsidy on enhancing wheat productivity were introduced.

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