Self help groups earn Rs 4L by selling peking duck

Kolkata: West Bengal Comprehensive Area Development Corporation's (CADC) intervention at Nowda in Murshidabdad has brought in a drastic change in the livelihood of around 20 Self Help Groups (SHGs) who are earning nearly 4 lakhs in three months through large scale production and sale of Peking Duck. The SHG groups with assistance from CADC has been using an incubator machine with an investment of only Rs 40,000 only and is using it for hatching eggs of Peking Duck and producing ducklings.

The ducklings on being given proper food mature into a full grown Peking duck in 45 days time and is then supplied to a seven star hotel chain in the city. The duck's feathers are also sold to exporters as it is used in manufacture of shuttlecock used in badminton. CADC is an autonomous organisation under the state Panchayats and Rural Development department.

"The technical support and handholding is being provided to the SHG group by the Murshidabad unit of CADC. We are in talks with some other hotel chain in Kolkata too so that the SHGs can find more takers," said a CADC official .

Swarup Chatterjee who is in charge of Animal Husbandry cell of CADC in the district said that the Nowda model of success of the SHGs has prompted them to encourage farmers to form groups and adopt the same model. A hen or a duck lays 200 eggs in its life cycle which is usually of 330 days. So if a farmer has 50 hens or ducks he will get 25 eggs daily on an average and in a week he will get 200. Now if 200 eggs are put into an incubator machine he will get around 140 chicks or ducklings from it which in three weeks will go upto 400. So in three months time he will be getting 1,200 chicks or ducklings.

A CADC official said that this model has also tasted success at Balarampur in Cooch Behar district and has also started at Pandua in Hooghly too.