A quiet yet powerful revolution is empowering tribal families and reshaping lives in remote villages across eastern and central India. Tribal women, once dependent on seasonal labor for meager daily wages, now proudly manage their own backyard poultry farms. This is more than just economic uplift; it’s a story of empowerment, dignity, and holistic development.
The visionary at the heart of this revolution is Dr. Harekrishna Deka. Drawing from his own rural roots, he chose a path far different from conventional careers, transforming a tiny tribal women’s cooperative into a multi-crore poultry enterprise that’s revitalizing rural livelihoods. His journey from a small village in Assam’s Nalbari district to leading a national rural poultry movement is nothing short of inspirational.
The Beginnings
For Dr. Harekrishna Deka, the driving force behind a remarkable grassroots poultry revolution, the seeds of his lifelong mission were sown early. He was one of ten children, growing up in the remote village of Khakharishal in Assam. Poverty was a constant companion, pushing him to the brink of abandoning his schooling.
Yet, fueled by his siblings’ encouragement and his own unyielding determination, Deka not only stayed in school but excelled, ultimately earning a veterinary degree from the College of Veterinary Science in Khanapara, Guwahati. This achievement became the launchpad for his life’s work: empowering rural communities. Equipped with specialized knowledge and a deep, personal understanding of agrarian hardships, he envisioned transforming tribal lives.
“I was born and raised in a farmer’s family in Nalbari, Assam. Like every child, I dreamed of becoming a doctor but couldn’t secure a seat. Eventually, I joined Veterinary College in Guwahati, graduating as a gold medalist,” he recounts. Opportunities abounded—government positions, competitive exams, or teaching roles. But fate had a different plan.
“I attended a campus interview for a development organization, which offered a one-year rural development internship. I was assigned to Torpa village, then in Ranchi district and now Khunti—a highly Naxal-affected area at the time.” There, under the mentorship of seasoned professionals, he immersed himself in village life, keenly observing rural economies, livelihoods, and the array of challenges they faced.
Upon completing his internship, his veterinary expertise led him to a modest poultry program in Kesla block of Madhya Pradesh’s Hoshangabad district (now Narmadapuram). “I evaluated the cooperative society model which had 150 tribal women each rearing 300 birds. Despite numerous hurdles in the system—such as optimizing production, managing diseases, ensuring biosecurity, and navigating marketing—I knew this was my calling. My role was to address these issues, expand the society and elevate it to the next level.”
Thus, his pivotal journey with the cooperative society began in 2002. Starting with critical steps like production streamlining, training, and capacity building, he and his colleagues progressively forged a successful smallholder poultry model that became a truly replicable institution.
Building the Community Poultry Model
This successful model was replicated in various states which came under the National Smallholder Poultry Development Trust (NSPDT), a public-purpose charitable trust. Deka emphasizes their core mission: “We consciously chose to work with the poorest of the poor—tribal women who otherwise migrated for seasonal work or worked as laborers.”
NSPDT empowers these women by mobilizing essential resources, bridging the gap for those who cannot afford initial investments. Each participating farmer receives financial assistance to construct backyard poultry sheds, designed to house 500-1,000 birds. Following 30-45 days of comprehensive husbandry training, they become both members and shareholders of their local cooperative society. Typically, 25-30 women producers form a village unit, with 500-1,000 women organized under a single cooperative.
Crucially, professional managers, groomed and deployed by NSPDT, oversee cooperative operations, leveraging ERP software, MIS systems, and stringent quality management protocols. These cooperatives are entirely owned and governed by the tribal women members themselves; NSPDT’s role is purely facilitative, providing resources and transforming them into skilled poultry producers. The cooperative societies supply vital inputs like feed, medicine, and vaccines, alongside technical and marketing support. Once birds are ready, they are collected for market sale, ensuring a seamless process where producers are paid through grower charges, and profits are distributed as annual dividends.
To ensure sustainability and competitiveness, these societies strategically consolidate into state-level federations. These federations then manage the entire poultry value chain—breeder farms, hatcheries, feed mills, processing plants, retail, marketing, human resources, financial oversight, and compliance.
The Reach of the Revolution: NSPDT’s Impact Across India
Under the NSPDT umbrella, a powerful network of state federations operates across Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam, Odisha, and Maharashtra. Crucially, these federations are owned by their respective primary societies, which are, in turn, wholly owned by the primary producers themselves. This decentralized model ensures grassroots ownership and sustainable growth.
“From earning 200 rupees as wage laborers, these women now have bank accounts, insurance policies, children in private schools, motorbikes, televisions, even irrigation facilities. Their confidence is inspiring,” Dr. Deka shares with evident pride. Their journey from destitution to economic independence is not just a statistic; it’s a testament to the power of community, knowledge, and sheer determination.
A Model Apart: Community Ownership vs. Corporate Integration
Dr. Harekrishna Deka’s poultry revolution stands in stark contrast to the dominant commercial integration model. While large integrators operate on contract farming—providing inputs and buy-back agreements where ownership remains with the companies—Deka’s approach champions community ownership.
“In our model, women own the business,” Deka explains. “The cooperative provides everything—feed, medicine, vaccines, technical support—right at their doorstep, while dedicated professionals handle the management.” This crucial distinction empowers the producer themselves: tribal women.
The Hurdles Ahead: Challenges and Opportunities
Despite its groundbreaking success, the community poultry model faces significant headwinds. Market saturation, largely driven by the rapid expansion of big integrators, has ignited intense price competition.
“Everyone wants to grow rapidly, but market consumption doesn’t match production growth,” Deka points out. “Today, production costs hover around INR 90/kg, while live birds sell for just INR 70-75/kg, causing losses across the entire industry. Growth must align with market demand to be truly sustainable.” This unplanned overproduction is severely impacting the industry, turning historically profitable months into periods of loss. It’s a stark indicator of the urgent need for industry-wide coordination.
A Path to Sustainable Growth for Indian Poultry
The NSPDT model demonstrates how inclusive growth and social enterprise can create profound, lasting impact across the nation’s diverse geography. With its vast rural populations and varied agro-climatic zones, India possesses a natural advantage for decentralized poultry development.
However, Dr. Deka stresses that sustainable growth demands balance. Expanding production must be harmonized with concerted efforts to boost consumption and market awareness. Rather than pursuing aggressive, unchecked growth that destabilizes the industry, a coordinated approach can ensure opportunities flourish for both smallholders and large integrators.
“Holistic growth is key,” Deka asserts. By fostering collaboration across all players, India can cultivate a resilient poultry ecosystem that benefits everyone—farmers, consumers, and the industry as a whole.
