The solitary duck machine
INDIA'S only duck farm, the Central Duck Breeding Farm, was set up by the agriculture ministry in 1981 at Hessaraghatta in Bangalore. Operating with British technical collaboration, it handles about 150,000 ducklings every year, depending on demand.
Says K A Reddy, a leading poultry scientist and former director of the farm, "We are trying to evolve high egg and meat yielding strains of ducks by selective breeding besides replenishing the foundation stocks of the state duck farmers." The farm serves also trains farmers in duck production and management.
The farm breeds Khaki Campbell, a cross-bred species capable of laying up to an egg a day. The maximum demand for ducklings comes from West Bengal. Of late, private farms from Gujarat and even Rajasthan have started expressing interest in duck rearing.
However, the farm has had little success in its efforts, mainly because duck rearing still has to be identified as an area with growth potential. Says Reddy, "There are large and hugely successful duck farms in other parts of south Asia. Our problem is that our institute has a limited effect, being the only one of its kind in the country. Besides, there is no active interest shown by state governments."
Hatcheries officer Ravi Kumar bemoans this lack of awareness as a factor inhibiting duck farming, "We need to publicise our activities more. Most of the literature available is only in English. The ministry of agriculture must identify potential areas like Kerala and Andhra Pradesh and introduce multiplication units in these states in order to increase the nucleus material for rearing ducks."