No.370/2020-2021

Lunglei District witnessed a significant milestone with the High Powered Committee (HPC) & Line Departments kickstarting an initiative to locally produce poultry feed in Lunglei District last friday (13/11/2020). Demonstration on ‘Local Production of Poultry Feed’ was held at the Maize Storage Hall, Mizoram Polytechnic Campus in Lunglei.

‘Local Production of Poultry Feed’ project is a joint initiative of the HPC Lunglei, Agriculture Department, Horticulture Department, AH&Vety Department and the Commerce & Industries Department.

Speaking at a short inaugural function, the HPC Vice Chairman Pu Lawmawma Tochhawng stated that the initiative is part of HPC Lunglei’s mission mode project to improve agriculture production and productivity within Lunglei District. He also told the gathering after successful implementation and initial hand holding, the project would be run in a PPP (Public Private Partnership) mode to encourage and promote agro entrepreneurs in the District. He praised and thanked the Line Departments and farmers for their hard work and dedication for the project.

HPC Lunglei had, on December 2019, implemented the ‘HPC Artui (Egg)’ project with 10,000 rainbow rooster chicks & related assistance being distributed to around 100 selected beneficiaries in and around Lunglei town. The project was launched with an aim of achieving self-sufficiency in egg production in Lunglei District. Within a few months, farmers under ‘HPC Artui’ reported problems faced due to high cost and scarce availability of poultry feed which is imported from outside the state. There is no local production of poultry feed at present.

To solve this persistent poultry feed issue, HPC Lunglei & the Line Departments devised a new project called the SEDP Maize wherein farmers in Lunglei District would be assisted to grow maize on a large scale, the harvest of which would then be used to produce poultry feed; maize being a major component (60%) in the manufacture of poultry feed. This backward integration project for HPC Artui, SEDP Maize Scheme was launched by the HPC Vice Chairman Pu Lawmawma Tochhawng on 13th April, 2020. The project was implemented with 619 farmers covering 18 villages divided in 919 clusters within an area covering 475 acres.

HPC Lunglei has so far procured 770.445 quintals of maize harvest from farmers at a rate of Rs. 25/kg. The implementing agencies have also procured the required machineries and other ingredients, and have set about producing poultry feed which would be made available at a subsidized rate in the market.  It is also noteworthy to mention that the grinder machines and mixing machines have also been built by two renowned local entrepreneurs Pu Ramdinmawia,VB Agri, Haulawng and Pu JH Lalramzauva, RZ Construction Lunglei.